The Brief: Develop the design and content for a permanent exhibit to be installed in the regional childrens museum, Kidzu.
The Process: Exhibit committee member for creative direction and business development concepts. Worked with committee and museum staff to create exhibit using vendors for education content, architecture, fabrication and installation. Consulted on concepts by exhibit designers. Designed and hand-built small portions of the exhibit.
The Result: Kidzu Childrens Museum opened in 2006 with traveling exhibits featuring famous children's book characters. These exhibits were an instant success, so the standard for the permanent exhibit was set very high. Kidzoom has exceeded expectations, attracting more visits than most of the character-driven installations. Half of the 150,000 visitors who have come to Kidzu have come for Kidzoom. The museum is currently developing the design for an expanded museum, enlarging the venue from 2000 sq. ft. to 12,000.
The For-Profit Tie-In: Kidzu needs corporate support in order to maintain its operations. Although exhibits are not built with specific corporate content, it's crucial that corporate donors be able to see themselves as part of the experience. The design of Kidzu is flexible, allowing the museum to develop programming around the permanent attractions, thus creating more opportunities for local businesses to get involved.
