Blog Post #5: The Magic Bull Moose
Technique
While
thinking to myself about what this blog post’s theme should be, (because that
is how I’ve always written anything ever) I was inspired by my go-to muse, Walt
Disney and Disney World. Over my many years of being educated, I have often
been called upon to do these things called “assignments.” I dislike them, but I
suppose they do make me learn things and get grades along the way. When I get
assigned something that is specific—book reviews, text specific essay prompts,
short answer—I have no problem creating a beautiful masterpiece that makes my teachers/professors
cry great tears of joy. (I hope none of them read this.) When it comes to the
more open-ended assignments such as research essays, speeches, and briefings,
my mind hits a roadblock. There are just too many topics out there; I have
trouble deciding on exactly which one to pick. (It’s like walking into a candy
store to find that everything is on sale, you don’t know what to get first.)
During the spring semester of my freshmen year, I discovered an answer: Disney.
When called upon to do an assignment where the topic was entirely up to me, I
would always go with something to do with Walt Disney or Disney World. It was
genius. A biographical speech on Walt Disney’s life and a briefing on his
leadership qualities are two applications of my super-secret technique. (You
have all consented to a non-disclosure agreement by reading this blog post. Feel
free to email me at tellno1@imjustkidding.com
for your 500 page word document.) Once I got a bit further along at Troy, I had
to amend this technique to include the prospect of legitimate historical
research so I added Theodore Roosevelt to the mix, officially making it the Magic Bull Moose Technique. I have written
this rather long intro in order to keep all of you, my dear readers, from
thinking that I am a wackadoodle. (I may
or may not have succeeded.)
Working
in Exhibits is like Disney World: You don’t get to sit down much, you end the
day feeling very tired, and even though you spend all day doing stuff, there is
always something else that still needs to be done. Also, it is awesome. I spent
my two weeks in Exhibits doing a variety of work, never repeating what I’d done
before. Whether it was making mounts for an artifact, (Cheston made the mounts,
I was his trusty assistant) deciding
the arrangement of artifacts in the cases, or taking a field trip somewhere to
run an errand, I had a blast.
The
best part of Exhibits was the fact that I got to learn something new every day.
I’ll be honest; I would not be the most helpful employee at The Home Depot.
Sure, I like to watch home repair and woodworking shows as much as the next
guy, but I have no experience doing anything like what Jacob and Cheston do
down in the shop. These two weeks changed all that. I got to do all sorts of
stuff: make mounts, frame pictures, sand plastic, and improvise. (There was a
lot of that last one.) Of all the toys in the shop, I have to say the plastic
bender is the coolest. It is used to bend pieces of plastic into different
angles so they can be used (or reused) for a specific artifact. One reason why
I like it is because of the broke college student mentality of reusing things
instead of buying new ones. The other reason is because it is a long metal rod
that melts plastic enough that you can bend it into different shapes. (How is
that not cool?!)
Another
great part about Exhibits is the designing of cases. Whenever you go into a
museum exhibit, you never think about the work that goes into making that
exhibit a reality. Most just look in the cases and never think of the thought
and time spent on each case. Well, let me tell you something: A lot goes into
making each case look just right. (Including a lot of bent plastic.) Take a
look at an exhibit during artifact installation (image below).
 |
| Exhibit during installation |
This is what it looks like after
the cases have already been crafted and installed. Imagine the chaos during
that adventure. Jacob and Cheston taught
me a lot during my time with them. One of them was the importance of Novus.
 |
| Novus - plastic cleaner and polish |
I was very acquainted with this
bottle. Novus is a plastic cleaner and polish that helps repair slight
scratches in the surface of plastics. You can imagine how handy this stuff is
considering almost every one of the mounts and all the cases in the exhibit are
made with a clear plastic.
The
first two cases I had a hand in designing were the armor case and the camera
case. The armor case included an arm brace, a shield, and a helmet. These items
were moved around in the case several times before the three of us came to an
agreement on their current position. The camera case was fun to do because we
got to arrange it in such a fun way. Jacob pointed out the different ways to
bring people’s focus to a case. (Unfortunately, I can’t tell you, the Museum
Code and all.) The camera case is pointed toward the visitor as they walk
towards it, immediately catching the visitor’s attention. Perhaps the most
interesting thing about this case is the way the clear mount was used to make
the camera appear as if it is floating above the slide holders.
 |
| Armor case |
 |
| Camera case |
One
of the most troublesome cases we did was the hunting case. This case included
my precious Katar, a helmet, a real boar skull, (killed by a relative of Jacob)
and a double barrel shotgun. There is also a picture by Mackenzie called Pig Sticking. The trouble with this case
was getting the gun to fit. Jacob wanted the gun to be opened (it was a breech
loading gun) similar to a photograph used close by. This presented problems
making it fit within the confines of the plastic case. Although after seeing
the finished case, it is easy to say that is was worth it. What do you think?
 |
| Hunting case |
Another
important lesson that Exhibits taught me is that everybody’s thoughts matter
when trying to figure something out. Jacob and Cheston always included me on
the planning of cases. One of my favorites that all three of us had a hand in
is the magic lantern case. This case is cool because it showcases the
creativity that can go into an exhibit. The lantern projector—or one similar to
it—was used by Mackenzie during his lecture series on India to showcase his
slide photos. This case includes two of those hand tinted slides. Above the
case is a new projector that will be showing images of Mackenzie’s other slides
on the wall across from the case. This will make it look like the magic lantern
is once again showing off the beautiful photographs of Mackenzie.
 |
| Magic Lantern case |
I
had a great time these past two weeks. It really was like a theme park. I had a
lot of fun going on the different “rides” of Exhibits, each one different but
moving toward the overall completion of the India exhibit. I learned a lot of
things during my time here. With half of my internship now over, I am beginning
to see an issue with this whole “finding out which aspect of museum work I like
best” thing. It’s like the kid in the candy store all over again. I don’t think
the Magic Bull Moose Technique will work on this though…
Keep an eye out because next week
I’m with fellow Troy Trojan, Scotty Kirkland, Curator of History!
So
with more to come,
Seth
Kinard
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