And you might come across two other variations on "streakers, strollers, scholars" (aka, the psychographics of attention span). One of these might be a better model for your situation. For example, “Skimmers, Swimmers, Divers” comes from web development …

We could think about our visitors by demographics: age, gender, religion. We could sort them by psychographics: lifestyle, political affiliation, values. But I prefer to plan according to attention span: streakers, strollers, and scholars. …

“England and America: separated by a common language.” — George Bernard Shaw (via Eddie Izzard). To our list of Slippery Words of Our Field — program, development — let’s add “accessible”. All of its different meanings are vital to what we all do. But …

There is a paradox at the heart of every visitor center: if it's so fantastic people never want to leave — it's a total failure. The more time you spend in a visitor center, the less time you have for the destination. We came for Niagara Falls, not the Niagara Falls Visitor Center. …

PHIL: Look at this script. Is this too much text? MONIQUE: Yes. [Sips matcha.] PHIL: But you didn’t even look! MONIQUE: Don’t have to. PHIL: Why not? MONIQUE: It’s always too much. PHIL: True. MONIQUE: Why do we always start by assuming every exhibition needs text? …

VR headsets are amazing. But not — usually — for our museum exhibitions. Despite all the times they come up in our meetings. Why? For one, they’re not a group thing. Headsets are individual. Museums aren’t. Do we want an experience for the few? …

In ancient times, shortly after life emerged from the sea, movies came on DVDs. “Special collector’s editions” had a second disk with “extra” content. We often treat our interactive media experiences like that second DVD. …

Ever wonder why a “small” at Starbucks is a “tall”? Once, you could order short, tall, or “grande” (Italian for “large”), but newbies just chose the middle: tall. The chain tried dropping shorts from the menu and adding a bigger size: “venti”. Guess what happened. …

Sure, it’s smart to plan using the “worst case scenario”. But that doesn’t work when the worst case is extreme. For example: We want to accommodate the largest exhibitions, so we plan all our galleries that big — but that size rarely comes. What to do? …

Exhibits are like Dr. Seuss machines.
They change minds. And, do you know what that means?
Our visitors – isn’t it sad, they don’t know
The facts about forks that we all love so. …

Since the QR code comeback, they are up for consideration in every project. And for some things they’re great. But before we put QR codes on every wall, let’s do a quick refresher. Here are 7 truths worth keeping in mind. …

What’s digital signage again? It’s the site-based screen media we use for promotion — as opposed to the media we use for edutaining visitors. There is one huge mistake everybody makes with digital signage. Want to avoid it? Here’s the tip: …

When the TSA needs to line people up efficiently in front of a checkpoint, they make a switchback path out of short poles and nylon straps. A switchback is a path where people walk one way, switch, walk the other way, switch, walk back, and so on. …

Floor plans commonly show walls, furniture, windows, and doors. Less common types are used to plan electrical circuits, lighting systems, and structural elements. Then there are the rare types no one knows about. Except now you do. …

MAAM ANNUAL CONFERENCE - COFFEE BAR. PHIL: My client is crazy! MONIQUE: Your donut looks good. PHIL: They have an awful touchscreen idea! MONIQUE: Mm. Worse than some I’ve heard?PHIL: Way worse, I know it! …

In museums and beyond, QR codes are having a comeback. They were invented a generation ago to track parts on Japanese assembly lines. US marketers tried to popularize them 10 years back. They flopped. Then two things happened. …

[NEW PODCAST] What if there were a better way? Are our concepts not good enough, because we’re not developing enough of them? What would happen if we merged “Agile” with “Waterfall”? We’ll ask PhD candidate Clare Brown. …

LED tiles come in different “pitches”. But what is pitch? Which is best? LEDs are teensy lights in black tiles that build walls like bricks. The fineness of the image depends on the spacing between the lights. That spacing is called “pitch”. …

ICYMI, last weekend U2 debuted The Sphere, a small moon coated with LEDs. Can’t tell LED from LCD? You’re not alone. We’re all pretending. The IT folks made the acronyms similar so we’ll be confused and accept the price tag. (Just kidding, IT friends!) …

What’s the A in DEAI, and why are the ADA guidelines not enough anymore? What’s intersectionality? If ADA isn’t our goal, what comes after? This is a must-listen episode, featuring two of the most important voices in museum accessibility today. …