There are three aging speeds to consider in every exhibition and experience project: Building Speed, Furniture Speed, and Technology Speed. 1. Building Speed: Good buildings age like an elephant. You shouldn’t need to replace one for 50 years …

Past podcast guest and friend of MtM Matt Kirchman teaches a principle called “first fish.” He picked it up planning aquarium experiences. If you have a lot of something visitors are excited to see, give them a taste of it as soon as they arrive …

Don’t know the term “LBE”? No worries. It’s probably something you make for a living anyway. “LBE” stands for “location based entertainment”. The term grew as the entertainment industry looked to sell intellectual property through physical space…

There is always that one surface in a space no one is sure what to do with. It’s not a primary location. And there isn’t any content still looking for a home. But we don’t want to leave it empty. What to do? Here’s a simple move that almost always works …

It’s a rare moment when a leading designer swaps jobs to lead a nonprofit member organization. Cybelle Jones (CEO of SEGD), joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to discuss what she’s learned going “From Leading Designer to Leading a Nonprofit”.

MONIQUE: I am a developer who would rather be a developer, and I work with people from development, who get funding from developers in development to make developments. SVEN: Uh, what did that mean? PHIL: Don’t encourage her…

There are some weird coincidences in our field. Here’s one. Typical projectors (not short-throw) ideally get placed about as far from an image as 1.5 times the width of that image. Guess how far away from an image a person instinctively stands …

All of us at the table at our planning sessions have one thing in common: we’re not our visitors. But sometimes we act like the project is … for us. “I know it’s an exhibit about ferns, but I just personally hate green. Can we see a grey option?” …

There is a counterintuitive audio engineering rule about how to make something louder. It might sound crazy. But it’s true. To dial something up — don’t dial it up. Dial everything else down. This rule is especially true in certain kinds of physical spaces …

If a project is over budget, who does the cutting? What should you do with expensive suggestions? Host Jonathan Alger talks “Black Belt Cost Control Tips.” Along the way: the beauty of modularity, poker wisdom, and ideas that will save you a lot of time and money.

MONIQUE: Remember that time a famous violinist played a Stradivarius in the subway, thousands passed by, and almost nobody stopped? PHIL: Yeah, it was an experiment for an article about context and public taste. MONIQUE: Right! But …

The audience hushes as the actor enters. She glides through shadows to a pool of light, and begins to speak. In a dark theater, an actor is irrelevant until they are lit. The starting condition is darkness. If the actor isn’t lit, the actor isn’t there. So much so, that …

A traveler comes across three stonecutters working in a field. Curious, he asks each what they are doing. The first mutters, “I am just doing my job.” The second scoffs and declares, “I am cutting perfect stones!” But the third smiles humbly and says …

This will be easy. Let’s ask around. Developer: “Programs” are the code we write for computers. Educator: No, “programs” are our tours and classes. Event Manager: What? “Programs” are what we hand out at our events.

What’s it really cost to build a museum? How can we find out if a project is feasible — before we even start? What are the most common ways museum projects get in financial trouble? Kris Collins joins Jonathan to discuss “A Museum is a Business”.

People who plan and design experiences know the jargon. People who don’t, don’t. And they have no interest in learning. Why should they? Do you recall the name of your prescription — or do you just want a painkiller when something hurts?

What is the Paradox of Exhibitions? Exhibitions display collection items that we otherwise preserve. Unless they are digital items, they have physical form. We take them out of their root cellars and pantries. We bring them into the light. We destroy them a little.

Sexy browsing is when an interactive experience is the equivalent of a book, diagram or filing cabinet, but done with appealing technology. You navigate educational image, text or video information. And your reward is more information. It’s good. But it’s not the only option.

An exhibition of rare books and manuscripts is a flock of beige butterflies. The books are antique paper, wings spread and perched in rows. But what is the most common color of fabric background we put these gentle beings upon?

How do you keep a huge project on track? What’s a contingency — and why is it the secret to success? Project manager Beth Van Why (Becker & Frondorf) joins host Jonathan Alger (C&G Partners) to reveal the Secrets of Complex Cultural Project Management.