steampunk to starships: museums and pop culture

STEAMPUNK TO STARSHIPS:MUSEUMS, POP CULTURE, AND “BORROWING COOL”NEW ENGLAND MUSEUM ASSOCIATION WORKSHOPAPRIL 13, 2016

TODAY’S SPEAKERS

• Meg Winikates, Membership & Advocacy Manager, NEMA (coordinator)• Margaret Middleton, exhibit designer• Bob Perry, Executive Director, Charles River Museum of

Industry and Innovation• Nick Perry and Jillian Perry, artists, Emporium 32• Emily Robertson, independent museum professional

TODAY’S AGENDA• 10 – 10:10 Introductions• 10:10-10:30 What does playing with pop culture look like? (Meg)• 10:30-11:30 “Outsiders” and the Risks and Rewards of Invitation (Margaret)• 11:30-12 Geekstorming (Meg) • Noon – 1 Lunch break and touring CRMII• 1- 1:30 Science Meets the Imagination at MOS (Emily)• 1:30 – 2:00 Coat hanger catapults • 2:00 - 3 – Watch City Steampunk Festival and community collaborations (Bob,

Nick, Jillian)• 3 - 3:30 Wrap-up discussion

PLAYING WITH POP CULTURE: THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY• Exhibits• Interventions or overlays• Guides and activities• Events and programs• Social media

“MIND TRICKS DON’T WORK ON ME, ONLY MONEY”

Copyright, Licensing, and Fear• Public domain• Educational purposes• Fair use• Transformative works

http://beta.transformativeworks.org/• The profit question

EXHIBITS AND OVERLAYS

• Cost• Mission relevance• Planning time• Attendance

GUIDES AND PROGRAMS

• Timeliness• Marketing• Casual vs. Extreme fans

SOCIAL MEDIA

THESE ARE NOT THE GEEKS YOU’RE LOOKING FOR

• You• Friends and Family• Coworkers: All departments• Members & other visitors• Librarians, Bookstores,

Comics shops• Fandom communities

GEEKSTORMING ACTIVITY• Steampunk• Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.• Superheroes • Game of Thrones• Walking Dead (zombies)• Harry Potter• Fairy Tales (and Disney)• Downton Abbey (and

other Masterpiece/BBC options)

• Jane Austen, Shakespeare• Hamilton• Sherlock Holmes• Video & Board Games• NaNoWriMo, National

Poetry Month• Picture book classics

“IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!”

Never forget, museums are already cool!