Random Projects
Below are projects in no particular order or size that I have helped bring to life over the years, both at the USS Constitution Museum and for other organizations. All museum projects are collaborative, and many of these projects came to life from great teams.
The Design Challenge
USS Constitution Museum
In 2016 with the help of GreenDoorLabs we created the Design Challenge. Visitors dive right in with three wheels that control the width, length and number of guns on an 1812 period war ship. Once they are happy with the design they can launch the ship and compete against bots and fellow visitors. My goal was a combination of history and STEM in an interactive that took no introduction. Kellian from Green Door Labs put together a great group of artists to develop the software and we built the interactive at the Museum. It has been extremely popular since its launch.
Iron in Old Ironsides
USS Constitution Museum
USS Constitution’s hull is built with live oak frames. Cannon balls were seen bouncing off of her sides, but how hard were these solid iron balls hitting the ship? After hearing from STEM scholars for this exhibit I came up with this interactive that shows the distance from the ship and the force in foot pounds that a 24 pound ball shot from a cannon would deliver. We added animations created by a local artist that illustrated both the distance and if the ball did damage to the ship depending on the material the visitor chose for the hull.
Land Use Game
Durant Kendrick House, Newton, MA
The land use game illustrates the choses a colonial farmer had to make. In a time of lower yields, limited storage and high transportation costs these trade offs looked very different. Prototyping this game was crucial to success.
The Apple Tree
Durant Kendrick House, Newton, MA
Simple grafting illustration puzzle. Developing exhibits for the Duran Kendrick House required learning all about the genetics of apples – which is totally fascinating.
Masonic Hall of Fame
Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library
The exhibition design for the Masonic Hall of Fame combined media with wonderful artifacts. The audience for this exhibit was very different from the family audience I often design for and thus the exhibit was quite different. I used large monitors as interactive signs that told the stories of hall of fame members from the 1700s to today. The Museum has an awesome collection and we were able to incorporate objects throughout the show.
The final installation and rendering images are above.
Mount making – a giant turtle
The Concord Museum, Concord, MA
Over the last 30+ years I have had the opportunity to make artifact mounts for a number of museums. The Concord Museum has been a client for all of those years. This turtle is made up of over 600 arrowheads and tools. The Museum’s work with indigenous communities should be the model for all.