9/17/2016 1:01:14 PM
The Explorer, "come fly with me"
Are you curious? a risk taker? passionate? Then join the crowd of inquisitive leaders who turn learning into life’s adventure.
The following is an excerpt from Lives of Museum Junkies. This chapter tells the story of Freda Nicholson, first director of Discovery Place in Charlotte, North Carolina. She is an amazing woman who knew how to overcome obstacles.
“Have you ever thought of reserving an entire four-hundred-plus-person ocean liner to take you and your acquaintances to the Amazon? How about chartering a 747 plane? Sound a bit risky? Would you do it if it put your job on the line and also risked your personal finances? That is what one very gutsy woman, Freda Nicholson, did.
Museum presidents always have their attention centered on fund-raising, and in 1986, when Halley’s Comet was due to make an appearance in Brazil, Freda was there with interested amateur science aficionados in order to observe its passing. Wanting to become a major player in developing OMNIMAX/IMAX large-format films, Freda realized that she needed to have more money than the museum presently reserved for new ventures, so she set out to find the funds in a way that allowed her to control the outcome.
Freda was not inexperienced when it came to the tourism industry. For a great many years, she organized excursions for wealthy donors, using the camaraderie and intimacy that develops among fellow travelers as a way to get into the hearts and wallets of potential philanthropists. In 1986, the year Halley’s Comet was going to be visible in the Americas, she had her chance to do something extraordinary. At first, she contacted a Greek shipping line that was headed for the Amazon and reserved only fourteen cabins. The rooms filled immediately, with a waiting list of one hundred people. Freda was amazed that the rooms filled so quickly and realized that the interest in the comet was something special.
There was only one thing she could imagine to do next. “Let’s rent the entire ship,” she said, and so she did. Letters were immediately sent out to numerous science center presidents, asking them if they wanted to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With overwhelming response, they quickly filled the ship. What then? Getting so many people from North Carolina, the planned rendezvous point, to Brazil was not going to be an easy task. So Freda then rented an entire 747, the first to ever land in the Charlotte airport. Staff were called into service driving people from their hotels to the airport.
Planetarium personnel from the Franklin Institute were on board along with science specialists from Discovery Place and other participating museums. Halley’s was strong motivation for teaching astronomy and nature while on the Amazon, but it was a risky venture, one that could have cost Freda her home if it had not succeeded for she felt compelled to personally insure the venture. She admitted that the museum’s board of directors hardly knew what was happening so she accepted ownership of the undertaking. Fortunately the Amazon cruise was a grand success. When all of the accounts were finalized, Freda did net enough money to participate in the large format film industry’s new productions.
Freda’s Lesson #1: Running a museum is a job for a risk taker.
You might wonder how Freda came to have a strong enough sense of self to be able to tackle such a venture. Her story is quite remarkable and an inspiration to those who start from the bottom. It is a rags-to-riches tale that I find intriguing because it demonstrates that the United States’ claim as a place where a person can climb out of poverty to reach success has roots in reality . . .”
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The Explorer is a three-dimensional hanging sculpture constructed by Marilynne Eichinger and Ray Losey. Art work is always for sale. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Lives of Museum Junkies is available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells Books, Inkwater Press and many other local bookstores.
It would help tremendously if you would rate this book after reading on Amazon. Also, do spread the word to your facebook friends. Thank you for your effort and to make science centers meaningful to the public.
Dates to remember : Book reading/signing events
October 11 - Broadway Books, NE Broadway, Portland
October 14 - Impression 5 -Lansing, Michigan - 6 pm
November 3 - Marylhurst University, Old Library - 7 pm - Book Launch Party
9/10/2016 8:57:41 PM
Soaring
Our lives continuously evolve. Past successes and failures help mold a new reality that allows us to soar into our future.
Moving On
Sometimes it is easy to move on. Other times thoughts of the future bring is fraught with fear. Going off to college for the first time can be exhilarating and challenging, yet becomes alarming when homesickness sets in. However, most young people survive and soon enjoy the excitement that comes from meeting new friends, living quasi-independently, and expanding brainy ideas.
When in our twenties and thirties, thoughts often turn to the future. What will it be like to get married, have children, work at a daily job and establish a home? We later discover that these milestones bring joy as well as stress and learn that life is a never-ending process requiring adaptation to constant change. The world does not stand still and neither do we.
I feel sorry for those who look back and say that the best years of their life are behind them. When I hear people comment thus I wonder how their vision became so limited as to not allow for a future that is better than the past. Though prior activities certainly influence the present, I believe that it is what we do with the following day that really matters. We may have had major accomplishments or failed miserably in the past but as long as we have our health it behooves us to continue to change and grow. It is both challenge and process that provide excitement. Accolades for achievement and are fleeting. Besides, tackling something new is lots of fun.
A few days ago I listened to an interview with several Olympians who mentioned their concern for the future. Several related how difficult it had been to give up friends, parties and family in order to devote themselves to excelling in their sport. Now that the competition has ended they feel empty and a bit lost. For most, their goal through the years had been to make the U.S. team. Winning at trials was their high point for they had achieved their intention. In some cases their event in Rio took less than one minute. Puff! It was over . . . then what?
It is not unusual for depression to set in when young Olympians head for home to confront what will happen next. They have to overcome the idea that they and the sport are one. They have to accept their intrinsic worthiness even though their next step may put them back at ground zero. Starting again may involve going back to school and.or training for a more sustainable career. They are suddenly one of many and not the only one at the top. Living an ordinary life may be difficult for a youth who has not developed a new sense of purpose. Thankfully, parents, friends and counselors recognize the pattern and help most get satisfactorily through the initial rough days. The strength they carry forward comes from having experienced passion and from understanding the value of hard work.
I found it difficult to sell my business after operating it for 18 years, but I knew the time had come. I had observed colleagues in my age bracket become seriously ill causing major disruption to their spouses and children. Since my own family did not want to take over a catalog company, it was time to sell. Anticipating leaving was actually more difficult than doing it. For years my ego was wrapped up in being a successful businesswoman. I even told my doctor that I thought I would die shortly after I resigned. He looked up at me to see if I was serious and started laughing. “Yes,” he said, “some people do get sick and die. They become couch potatoes and never leave home because they decided life for them is over. You are not the type.”
He was right. Once I left the company I did not look back. It is not my style. I never spent a day in sadness or regret and quickly set new goals. I wanted to make new friends because I had lost so many when engrossed in work. I also vowed to be a better painter and learn how to write. Now my ego is wrapped in a new envelope. I completed my second book and am diligently working on the third. These new challenges are absorbing to mind, body and time. I look through a window of wonderful opportunities in the future . . . a day, a week, a year or more.
A colleague of mine, Sheila Grinell, is a most dynamic example of a future thinker. Sheila never stayed still even when disappointed by events outside of her control. I have not known her to ever look back. She and I were colleagues in the museum business at one time, both active builders of science centers. In Lives of Museum Junkies I give an accounting of how even as a child, though lacking emotional and intellectual support, she took control of her future. Sheila was not one to sit back and say, “Pity me, life is so unfair.”
Second in command at the Exploratorium, she went on to direct and mold the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC). Wanting a new challenge Sheila later became the first president of the Arizona Science Center. Once the decision was made to move on, Sheila marched forward, changed careers and became a writer of fiction, putting her keen imagination on the page. Now she has proudly published Appetite and I am thrilled to tell you about it.
In her debut novel Sheila writes of conflict between a boomer couple and their millennial daughter over f the g girl’s impending marriage to an Indian guru. The intergenerational story tells of dramatic relationships that propel the reader into the minds of both parents who have their own idea of the lifestyle their offspring should be engaged in. It demonstrates well the complexities of marriage, youth, and passion. The book is available at bookstores nationally as well as on-line and in ebook formats.
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Now on to my new release.
Lives of Museum Junkies is filled with behind the scenes tales that most will find quite surprising. You are invited to peer into the political and educational climate of the 1960s to discover factors that propelled the hands-on education movement into prominence. Follow the missteps and breakthroughs of myself and 11 other naive but dedicated museum directors, board volunteers, and National Science Foundation managers as we strove to change the way science was taught. The oft humorous stories are revealed with candor and clarity. Responding to the latest research in learning and child development, we created engaging, self-teaching displays that impacted the landscape of 2,900 centers worldwide while serving 98 million people in the U.S.
Lives of Museum Junkies is currently available on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, Powells Books, Annie Blooms Books, The-M-porium, Inkwater books and museums nationwide. More to be announced.
Meet the author, save the date
Tampa, Florida - September 24, 25 2-5 pm- book signing at Tampa Convention Center
Lansing, Michigan - October 14, 6 pm - book talk and signing
Book Launch Party: Marylhurst University, Portland,Oregon - November 3rd, evening time to be announce.
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Artwork is always for sale. Soaring is mixed media on canvas/ 38” by 49”/ Gold frame/ Cost-$765. Contact me at [email protected].
I would love to hear comments about moving on. Please respond below.
9/3/2016 1:59:20 PM
Building Blocks
Creating a science museum is like playing with building blocks. It takes imagination, perseverance, and innovation to build a monument to experiential learning. The following excerpt is from the first page of Lives of Museum Junkies. Unusual consequences often occur from obscure beginnings and it is a pleasure to share them with you.
Creating an Interactive Museum: Naïve Beginnings
“Stop running and making so much noise!” I shouted to five rambunctious children playing hide-and-seek in closets throughout the house. It was a cold day and my friend Dee Pumplin was visiting with her son. She and I were having a difficult time hearing each other as we chatted animatedly in the kitchen. It was during this conversation that my homemaker days started to end, when over coffee in my suburban house we brewed up the idea of a hands-on museum that emphasized science.
Children are not always polite, studious little creatures set on this planet to impress and please their parents. Instead, they are balls of energy who love to run, scream and create bedlam. In short, they can drive a parent crazy, especially on a rainy day. As Dee and I talked, her one and my four children shouted and squealed, ignoring the storm roaring outside. The increasing noise level was like a drum roll announcing a new idea. We started imagining what it would be like to take our kids to an indoor playground. “Wouldn’t it be magnificent to have a great big barn,” we fantasized, “and fill it floor to ceiling with ramps, poles, and climbing apparatus? What fun it would be for the children and their friends. They would get rid of their energy away from home and our houses would be preserved.” Dee and I started to wonder where we could find a barn and even took the next step of contacting a realtor.
As we learned more, the vision for an indoor play structure grew. The immense dimensions of a working barn inspired our ideas to expand to include interactive learning activities inserted into climbing areas. We imagined children swooping down a sliding board and finding a light table, colored filters, and projectors to use for experimentation. The colored light could be
projected on the next child speeding down the slide. We embraced the idea of physical play being integrated with academic challenges in a never-ending cycle of learning.
After months of talk and concept development, we finally located a barn, but it wasn’t long before we faced a dose of reality. The cost to acquire the property was more than we anticipated and building the inside play structure seemed monumental. The barn needed to be heated, insulated, electrified, bathroomed and water sprinkled and once it was upgraded, ongoing utilities would be astronomical. The permitting process was overwhelming to two inexperienced women who began to wonder if the city would even allow this type of play-barn to exist. Insurance was bound to be phenomenal, not only because we were dealing with a wooden structure but because we were planning to let children run throughout. We especially liked the idea of fire poles descending from one level to the next. Sound safe? Costs mounted, reaching an enormous number before we even considered the price of exhibits and staffing. . . . .
Artwork is always for sale: Building Blocks is a 24” by 28” acrylic painting on canvas in a gold frame. Cost is 4 450. Contact me at [email protected] for further information.
Lives of museum Junkies is available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Nobel, The-M-Emporium, Powells Books. Cost is $ 19.95; e-book cost is $ 8.95. For a signed copy you can purchase from me for $ 19.95 plus $ 4 shipping. Contact me at [email protected].
New Release: Former OMSI President Reveals the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly History Behind the Hands-On Education Movement
“...will help you see science museums in a new light.” – David Ucko, Museums+More llc
In this lively, behind-the-scenes look at the evolution of interactive science museums, discover:
> How the Brooklyn Museum of Art was saved from closure by Mayor Rudolph Guiliani for showing a painting by Chris Ofili of the Virgin Mary that contained elephant dung.
> Why an autistic child spoke for the first time on a science center visit.
> Who kept NOVA from being canceled when congress did not agree with their investigative reporting style that explored sensitive subjects like nuclear energy.
> What inspired a poor Appalachian orphan to go from rags to riches to become a museum president who later rented an entire cruise ship to see a global eclipse on the Amazon.
> Why executives at the top are subject to sexual abuse and find it nearly impossible to manage.
> The outcry caused by the Playboy Bunnies playing basketball with business executives to raise funds for a museum.
“recommended for those who care about museums, libraries, and society today.”
– Ginnie Cooper, Directed Washington D.C., Brooklyn, and Portland library systems .
