This past Sunday was your last chance to see Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment. at the National Museum of American History...but don't worry, it is going on the road. See a behind-the-scenes look at how this exhibit was created and where it is going next.
NMAAHC Apollo Theater
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Coleman
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Jim Henson's legacy on tour.
Take a look at this Scrapbook Special. It is a wonderful episode on "Jim Henson's Fantastic World", an exhibition currently being toured by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. This video will give you a look into the life and career of Jim Henson and his legacy.
See why 370,000 people saw this exhibition when it was in Washington, DC.
http://www.orangetv1.net/musicvideo.php?vid=641505845
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See why 370,000 people saw this exhibition when it was in Washington, DC.
http://www.orangetv1.net/musicvideo.php?vid=641505845
Tweet
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Are you using QR Tags?
We have begun to see QR tags (a type of bar code) everywhere. I see them in a couple of the magazines that I read all the time. You can scan a tag with a smart phone and you receive access to additional information. This additional information might be text, or pictures, or anything you can upload to the web.
The link below will take you to a story about a creative way QR tags are being used to sell real estate. How can they be used to tell the story of an exhibition or a single piece of art?
http://fields.eca.ac.uk/totem/?p=503
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The link below will take you to a story about a creative way QR tags are being used to sell real estate. How can they be used to tell the story of an exhibition or a single piece of art?
http://fields.eca.ac.uk/totem/?p=503
Tweet
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Social Media and your staff.
Does your institution use social media? Do you believe in the effectiveness of Twitter? If you do, and you also believe that the best advocates for your programs are the people that actually make them happen, you should look at this article from the Brooklyn Museum.
The article is about a service that allows your people to tell the story of your programs and exhibits. Please let me know what you think of this service.
http://bit.ly/9AJ44P
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The article is about a service that allows your people to tell the story of your programs and exhibits. Please let me know what you think of this service.
http://bit.ly/9AJ44P
Tweet
Can you see the future?
It will be hazy, hot and humid in Washington, DC tomorrow. This is not a difficult prediction, it is always hazy, hot and humid in Washington during the summer.
Knowing the future of your museum is much more difficult. It is easy to know what you would like to happen, but seeing into that crystal ball is still a fairy tale.
Click on the link below and you can see what Ford Bell, the President of the American Association of Museums thinks we might see.
http://youtu.be/TKSQVrBBRlU
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Be Part of YouTube Play!
YouTube Play is a collaboration between YouTube and the GUGGENHIM MUSEUM to find and show creative video from around the world. To see more, go to www.youtube.com/play
Knowing the future of your museum is much more difficult. It is easy to know what you would like to happen, but seeing into that crystal ball is still a fairy tale.
Click on the link below and you can see what Ford Bell, the President of the American Association of Museums thinks we might see.
http://youtu.be/TKSQVrBBRlU
Tweet
Be Part of YouTube Play!
YouTube Play is a collaboration between YouTube and the GUGGENHIM MUSEUM to find and show creative video from around the world. To see more, go to www.youtube.com/play
Friday, November 13, 2009
Got Budget?
As everyone knows, we must have money in the budget or nothing happens. Without it, we cannot add staff to help overworked employees. We cannot buy equipment and supplies nor can we add space to our facilities. Exhibitions become more difficult to complete which certainly makes life more difficult for overworked employees. Worst of all - institutions are having to lay-off those already overworked employees. There is a boatload of sales people hitting the streets harder than ever before trying to get a share of your ever-decreasing budget.
How are we to deal with this “budget problem”? Well, usually the first thing you would think to do is cut costs. But cutting costs can come at a price when service suffers and value you receive for your investment decreases. What you are really looking for is the optimal fit between service and price. When part of your job is to arrange transportation for exhibitions, there are a number of ways you can optimize the value you receive for your investment.
Here are some things to consider that could help your budget:
• Does the entire shipment need climate control service, or can the “non-object” items travel in a less expensive environment?
• Paying for dual driver service can be very expensive. Does the exhibition schedule allow for the objects to travel with dual drivers and the “non-object” pieces to arrive at a slightly later date?
• Can you deck any part of the exhibition? Decking is a service where you create a second floor above the lower level of items on a van. This is accomplished with bars that are attached to the wall of the trailer. This allows use of the space above the floor-loaded pieces without stacking directly on an object or object crate. This does sometimes require a forklift to load and unload. If a forklift is not available at origin and destination then this might not be a viable option, but some items are small and light enough to be decked by hand and decking could then be an option.
• When you have a gap in the schedule and the last venue before the break is many miles away, consider storage at a local fine art facility. Most major markets have established fine art service companies that can provide exhibition quality storage. This will sometimes save the cost of bringing the exhibition back across country to be stored at your facility.
• Consider using non-climate controlled storage for the non-artifact portion of the exhibition. Quite often the cost savings of using non-climate controlled storage outweighs the cost of an extra delivery and pickup for using a second facility. Sometimes the climate facility you are planning to use also has a non-climate controlled portion of their facility that may cost less.
These are just a few ideas to consider when trying to save money. As you know, every exhibition and every logistical situation is different. There is usually a good reason for being the cheapest guy on the block. Sometimes choosing a service provider with a better understanding of how to maximize the value you receive for your investment is the best way to deal with a over-stressed budget.
I know…this all seems like it is self serving considering that I am in the exhibition transportation business. The real issue is providing a valuable, safe, quality service that can come in under budget. The pros in this business can help you do this without causing you service nightmares. The guy that jumps at lowering his price to get your business needs to be considered carefully.
As everyone knows, we must have money in the budget or nothing happens. Without it, we cannot add staff to help overworked employees. We cannot buy equipment and supplies nor can we add space to our facilities. Exhibitions become more difficult to complete which certainly makes life more difficult for overworked employees. Worst of all - institutions are having to lay-off those already overworked employees. There is a boatload of sales people hitting the streets harder than ever before trying to get a share of your ever-decreasing budget.
How are we to deal with this “budget problem”? Well, usually the first thing you would think to do is cut costs. But cutting costs can come at a price when service suffers and value you receive for your investment decreases. What you are really looking for is the optimal fit between service and price. When part of your job is to arrange transportation for exhibitions, there are a number of ways you can optimize the value you receive for your investment.
Here are some things to consider that could help your budget:
• Does the entire shipment need climate control service, or can the “non-object” items travel in a less expensive environment?
• Paying for dual driver service can be very expensive. Does the exhibition schedule allow for the objects to travel with dual drivers and the “non-object” pieces to arrive at a slightly later date?
• Can you deck any part of the exhibition? Decking is a service where you create a second floor above the lower level of items on a van. This is accomplished with bars that are attached to the wall of the trailer. This allows use of the space above the floor-loaded pieces without stacking directly on an object or object crate. This does sometimes require a forklift to load and unload. If a forklift is not available at origin and destination then this might not be a viable option, but some items are small and light enough to be decked by hand and decking could then be an option.
• When you have a gap in the schedule and the last venue before the break is many miles away, consider storage at a local fine art facility. Most major markets have established fine art service companies that can provide exhibition quality storage. This will sometimes save the cost of bringing the exhibition back across country to be stored at your facility.
• Consider using non-climate controlled storage for the non-artifact portion of the exhibition. Quite often the cost savings of using non-climate controlled storage outweighs the cost of an extra delivery and pickup for using a second facility. Sometimes the climate facility you are planning to use also has a non-climate controlled portion of their facility that may cost less.
These are just a few ideas to consider when trying to save money. As you know, every exhibition and every logistical situation is different. There is usually a good reason for being the cheapest guy on the block. Sometimes choosing a service provider with a better understanding of how to maximize the value you receive for your investment is the best way to deal with a over-stressed budget.
I know…this all seems like it is self serving considering that I am in the exhibition transportation business. The real issue is providing a valuable, safe, quality service that can come in under budget. The pros in this business can help you do this without causing you service nightmares. The guy that jumps at lowering his price to get your business needs to be considered carefully.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
ITS NOT EASY BEING GREEN!
How we impact the environment is a concern in both our personal and professional lives. I spend lots of time talking either to people working in the transportation industry or those who need to use its services and, the reality is, the transportation industry uses a great deal of natural resources.
From the fuel required to transport each shipment to the paper and cardboard needed to pack the items we ship, the industry uses many consumables that have an environmental impact. However, we are actively implementing initiatives to minimize that impact.
Recycling: Safe transportation methods require the use of wood, paper and cardboard. We do everything we can to reduce, reuse and recycle. Our drivers and crews bring as much of the shipment packaging as possible back to the facility for recycling or reuse, as appropriate. Each of our facilities makes used cartons available to civic and cultural organizations that may have a need.
Brand New Packing…Again: We work closely with our vendors to ensure we get the best recycled materials available without sacrificing cleanliness or structural integrity. Reusable packing containers – like plastic bins and sturdy plastic speed bins are a few of the innovative materials that are commonplace on our projects.
We also have a number of environmentally focused initiatives in place on our trucks and trailers.
Generators: It was once commonplace to leave diesel engines idling for heat and electricity during stops. Now there are generator systems available to provide the on-board electricity needs and to warm engines for easier, more efficient starts.
Clean Machines: Closely monitoring maintenance schedules for our vans ensures that all our rolling equipment is operating at peak efficiency. Monitoring software alerts us to when equipment should have the oil changed, be lubricated, and even washed. We continually rotate out old, inefficient trailers and invest in modern, lightweight rolling stock to ensure that our fleet is operating at peak efficiency.
Tire Inflation: One way to minimize emissions, maximize fuel economy and tire wear is to utilize the P.S.I. Tire Inflation System. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes this system effectiveness and recommends it as an industry standard.
EZPass & Prepass: The same EZPass transponders you use for toll roads, tunnels and bridges save drivers time and energy by eliminating fuel consuming idling and acceleration at toll stops.
Prepass transponders help drivers roll past weigh stations by sending all the appropriate information digitally to the station. If there are no weight or safety issues the driver gets a green light to continue on their journey without the fuel-consuming stop.
We’ve also looked to how we handle business within our facilities.
Paperwork: Documents don’t have to be documents. Many offices used to be consumed by massive filing cabinets filled with years- worth of documentation. No longer…we now create digital files of all the federal and state required documentation. We have eliminated literally tons of paperwork and made accessing information a quick mouse click away. Additionally, we recycle paper, printer cartridges and other office materials.
Office Equipment: Energy Star electronics save companies thousands in energy costs and represent a tangible example of wise energy management. We always look for the Energy Star Qualified label when purchasing equipment.
From the fuel required to transport each shipment to the paper and cardboard needed to pack the items we ship, the industry uses many consumables that have an environmental impact. However, we are actively implementing initiatives to minimize that impact.
Recycling: Safe transportation methods require the use of wood, paper and cardboard. We do everything we can to reduce, reuse and recycle. Our drivers and crews bring as much of the shipment packaging as possible back to the facility for recycling or reuse, as appropriate. Each of our facilities makes used cartons available to civic and cultural organizations that may have a need.
Brand New Packing…Again: We work closely with our vendors to ensure we get the best recycled materials available without sacrificing cleanliness or structural integrity. Reusable packing containers – like plastic bins and sturdy plastic speed bins are a few of the innovative materials that are commonplace on our projects.
We also have a number of environmentally focused initiatives in place on our trucks and trailers.
Generators: It was once commonplace to leave diesel engines idling for heat and electricity during stops. Now there are generator systems available to provide the on-board electricity needs and to warm engines for easier, more efficient starts.
Clean Machines: Closely monitoring maintenance schedules for our vans ensures that all our rolling equipment is operating at peak efficiency. Monitoring software alerts us to when equipment should have the oil changed, be lubricated, and even washed. We continually rotate out old, inefficient trailers and invest in modern, lightweight rolling stock to ensure that our fleet is operating at peak efficiency.
Tire Inflation: One way to minimize emissions, maximize fuel economy and tire wear is to utilize the P.S.I. Tire Inflation System. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recognizes this system effectiveness and recommends it as an industry standard.
EZPass & Prepass: The same EZPass transponders you use for toll roads, tunnels and bridges save drivers time and energy by eliminating fuel consuming idling and acceleration at toll stops.
Prepass transponders help drivers roll past weigh stations by sending all the appropriate information digitally to the station. If there are no weight or safety issues the driver gets a green light to continue on their journey without the fuel-consuming stop.
We’ve also looked to how we handle business within our facilities.
Paperwork: Documents don’t have to be documents. Many offices used to be consumed by massive filing cabinets filled with years- worth of documentation. No longer…we now create digital files of all the federal and state required documentation. We have eliminated literally tons of paperwork and made accessing information a quick mouse click away. Additionally, we recycle paper, printer cartridges and other office materials.
Office Equipment: Energy Star electronics save companies thousands in energy costs and represent a tangible example of wise energy management. We always look for the Energy Star Qualified label when purchasing equipment.
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