Last week I had the opportunity to go to London's wonderful Science Museum. I usually really enjoy Science Museums because of all the wonderful exhibits to look at and many times the different activities you can participate in. I was really excited to go to London's museum because I have always had the thought in my mind that London has such wonderful museums and up until the science museum, London did..I will have to admit, the Science Museum did not impress me too much unfortunately..
1. Critique the logo--Does it relate to the mission / subject matter / content? --Is it appropriate for the audience?
~ Overall, I was very impressed by the Science Museums logo.When I think of science, I always think about the future and how scientists are always doing research and experiments to figure out new discoveries that will be implemented in our future. I, of course, understand that scientists research things from the past but in my head I think more of the future and what's going to happen. I thought that this logo related to the content of the museum, not only because they had an exhibit on the future but also because throughout the whole museum, the writing and type faces were more futuristic and scientific looking. Although for each exhibit the title walls and fonts were different, the main fonts (like for the cafe and shop and welcoming/exiting fonts) were written in basically the same type of scientific, futuristic looking font. I thought that the logo was in a way appropriate for the audience but also in a way not the most appropriate for the audience. The logo was written on 3 lines with the I and the E intertwining each other and combining to make the E. For a little child, this could be incredibly confusing and unreadable. They might try and read it as different words or phrases if they aren't that old, when it should be read and seen as one word in a more artistic way. On the other hand, I think it is appropriate for the audience because it is creative, understandable and fits with the content and subject matter of the museum which older visitors would appreciate and interpret the correct way.
2. Navigation--Is there a clear path to exhibitions? --Do the signs adequately navigate users?--Does the museum plan allow for several paths?--Is the handout/map legible for navigation?
~ In all honesty, I was not happy with the navigation through out the museum. I don't mean to be harsh but I felt as if I could absolutely not find my way around. When I first got to the museum I walked to the right to check out those exhibits and ended up being restricted to only the back exhibits of the museum. The only way out of the back exhibits were to walk all the way back down to the first floor, all the way through the main floor exhibit and then all the way to the other side of the museum. I figured when in the back of the museum there would be a way to see the front exhibits, but there was absolutely no way. I also felt as if the exhibits were scattered. In the back of the museum, they were organized because there was just one exhibit per floor and a sign when you got to the top of the stairs, but having only 3 exhibits in the whole back of the museum felt a bit boring. On the other hand, I thought the signs did adequately navigate. This might sound contradictory, but I am talking more about the signs to the toilets, fire exits, to the rights/lefts and to the cafe/shops. I don't think the signs navigated well to each exhibit, but to everything else in the museum I thought it was great. Especially to the Listening Post. There was no way we were going to get lost. There were arrows for a good stretch of the hallway and on the walls all the way until you were literally in a seat in the Listening Post. The museum did not allow for several paths in my opinion. Each floor was rather large with only a few exhibits on each floor. When you entered an exhibit, the only way to exit was to walk all the way back through the exhibit, which was quite boring since you already saw the whole exhibit and it would have been nice to go straight to another one. In contrast, I thought the map was good at showing me which exhibits the museum offered because they were numbered and titled on each floor, but I do not think the map was successful in helping me find my way. My favorite title wall was when we first entered the museum with the hand "holding" the sign (picture below). Overall, I was not impressed by the navigation throughout the museum unless I went to the museum only for the cafe, shop, toilet and fire exits.
3. Shop / Cafe
Describe how the shop and cafe extend or compromise the brand? Do products (merchandise) reinforce the brand?
4. Display cases--Compare and contrast the display cases throughout the museum.--Do they function to protect? How is text integrated into the display?
~ I thought this museum offered a variety of different display cases throughout the exhibits. For example, in the DNA exhibit the display cases looked like different cells and DNA strands whereas in the plasticity exhibit the display cases were just glass cases protecting the objects inside. The display cases definitely functioned to protect because while in the Psychoanalysis Exhibit, I was looking at a shadow of red objects put together and when a light was flashed on it, a shadow formed on the wall of two people (it was really awesome). But as I was standing there, a woman was trying to take a picture and must of stepped to close to the glass because all of a sudden an alarm went off, which served the purpose of us backing away from the displays. Although there was the alarm, the display case did not block our view of the exhibit and objects at all which was a good aspect to the museum. I like to call it "Secret Security (because we didn't know there was an alarm but overall it was doing a great job of protecting the displays)". In the back of the museum with the more futuristic exhibits, the display cases were more creative and not simple whereas in the front of the museum in exhibits like Plasticity, Psychoanalysis and Materials, the display cases were just simple glass boxes. In other regards, text was integrated into the displays very well and also poorly in different exhibits. For example, in the Materials exhibit I thought the text was awesome. The title wall that said Materials was really cool because each letter had it's own unique twist and design to it, which related to the content in the exhibit. On the signs leading to the Future and DNA exhibits, those texts were really interesting as well because they represented the font that was used in the Science Museum logo looking more futuristic and creative. On the other hand, the text throughout the exhibits many times were very unsuccessful. In the Psychoanalysis exhibit, the text was barely found. There were very tiny plaques that had incredibly small writing saying what the case displayed but it was very hard to find and sometimes did not exist so many times I had no idea what I was looking at. The only exhibit that really got my attention with the text was the DNA exhibit because on large glass billboards like walls, the text was written very large in more natural colors with bold writing. I didn't have to actively seek out where the text was or what the exhibit was about because the text caught my eye right as I walked into the exhibit.
5. Exhibits--Describe the details of your favorite exhibit--Consider color, layout, content, objects. Why is this memorable?
~ I am having a hard time deciding which exhibit was my favorite. Overall I think I would have to chose the Listening post or the DNA exhibit (as I'm sure you can tell). I was really disappointed though because I was really looking forward to seeing the Psychoanalysis Exhibit since I am really interested in that, and when I got there it completely disappointed me because of the lack of displays and inconsistent, bland text style. I liked the Listening Post just because I have never heard anything like that. It was a bit weird though that you could listen to what random people were saying. I'll stick with the DNA exhibit. I thought this exhibit was genius. I loved the display cases because they were silver and the writing was little holes within the case and each hole was a light which spelled a word (what the case was about). Also, the different glass billboard like walls throughout the exhibit were very large with big, bold writing on each of them attracting my attention. There were also different activity posts that you could explore with and see what each one had to offer. The layout was perfect because there was a lot to see but it was not overwhelming. The silver cell-like displays were more to one side with the glass billboard walls spread out pretty much through out the exhibit. I thought the content was interesting. It wasn't just straight up facts about DNA but rather it said "I, you, we, us" to bring the point that DNA is what we are made up of, each and every one of us. I also liked how the DNA exhibit was at the top of the museum along with the future exhibit. It made it seem like there was still more to be discovered and more to learn. It also made it seem more important (meaning that us as humans are the most important) and also that we have a lot to learn about ourselves. This was very memorable to me because of the silver cell shaped display cases. They were the most creative I have seen and the only exhibit I can truly remember.
6. Facts--What critical information did you learn from your visit?
~ One of the most critical pieces of information I learned from my visit was how important it is to have a good navigation system throughout any museum or theatre or anywhere that visitors walk around and explore. Not knowing where to go or even where to begin is really frustrating and overwhelming for many people. I did not care much about the scientific facts throughout the museum but what I did care about was finding my way around and not feeling completely lost through out the whole museum. So by having a helpful navigation system, this can help make visitors feel more comfortable, feel welcomed and also feel as if they want to come back because they knew their way around and were able to see what they wanted to see. Another piece of information that I learned was to never join or at least not to say anything bad or rude at all in an unrestricted chat room because you never know who will be listening and who will be stealing what you are saying! That listening post freaked me out! I also learned that it is incredibly important to recycle. I've always recycled at home but only because my parents made me. At school I never recycled because I just didn't care. Seeing how much energy and waste and money recycled products can save has really changed my mind on recycling. And also seeing how many everyday materials are from recycled products was intriguing. Overall, this visit had it's ups and downs. I don't think I will be visiting this museum that many more times throughout my stay in London, but I will definitely visit it at least once again before I leave. I did have an enjoyable time though walking around and seeing what this museum had to offer! I just wouldn't say it was my favorite museum...but I will go back for the listening post...
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