How to I become the person who designs fun science exhibits and demo?

September 17, 2011 10:53 PM

How to I become the person who designs fun science exhibits and demo?

I'm interested in science education, particularly in developing fun, interactive, and innovative ways to teach through demos, exhibits, curricula, media, writing, etc, and would love information on how to pursue this and how in demand these careers are. I'm thinking careers with goals similar to MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten, science museum exhibits, and Bill Nye the Science Guy. I sometimes daydream about doing this, and recently, I'm curious if I can actually make it happen in my life. Forgive me if my questions are naive... I don't know where to start and I'm currently too shy to asked someone in person, so I turn to the hive mind.

Are people who design fun museum exhibits and demos primarily people who are primarily trained sciences or who are trained teachers? What steps do I need to take (as a recent college grad from the sciences) to pursue this (PhD in specific science field? Masters in Education? Masters in Science Education? Experience? Luck? Something else?) Most of the museum staff scientist bios on websites seem to consist of either scientists with doctorates who have worked years in their respective fields, and I get very intimidated.

Where are other places to work besides museums? Are there consulting firms that design fun, innovative curricula and demos for the classroom? What about toy or media companies (I'm thinking maybe educational video game companies)? What are some starting places/terms for me to begin my research in such a field? And how in demand are people who design science demonstrations/toys/exhibits anyway? Is this even a practical career choice? I'm currently not interested in actually becoming a teacher in a classroom. I enjoy interacting with kids, but will probably be drained from so much public interaction. I just want to be the person behind the curtain.

Thanks!

posted by lacedcoffee to Work & Money (6 answers total)

I've got some science-museum background though none of my work was directly related to exhibit development. Exhibit dev is uneven and related, in general, to the shifts in prosperity and austerity, and many of the jobs are based on grants that fund the development and accordingly run out at some point. Also, most museum exhibits are developed by museums, as independent developers have tried and largely failed to be sustainable.

From what I know, science interest is important, but mainly research skills and a skill for gauging the audience level when creating exhibits. Additionally, all kinds of electrical, electronic, mechanical, design/construction, woodwork skills are useful; some places have a dedicated shop and some dedicated skilled pros like metalworkers. Others use whomever they can, or custom-order from outside.

If you get a full-time non-grant position, be prepared to spend a considerable amount of time repairing stuff. Entropy, thy name is museum patron. Also, exhibits people aren't usually exposed to the public except when constructing or taking down exhibits, at which stages the public is not welcome.
posted by Sunburnt at 11:58 PM on September 17, 2011

I work in science communication in a role very much like you're talking about in the last bit of your question - and I happened to get into it because I decided that I wanted to work in a science museum. I go to schools, events etc and run science workshops for kids. I am in Australia though, and I'm not sure what it is like in the US.

I can help you with science communication in general, so PM me if you have questions about what you actually do.
posted by cholly at 12:43 AM on September 18, 2011

I've got several space-oriented interactive exhibits running. I'm afraid to admit that I did not set out to do this type of work, but that it emerged as a series of off-shoots of my general research in scientific visualization. I don't work for a museum, I'm an academic researcher.

I was a graduate student working toward a PhD in Computer Science with an emphasis on real-time computer graphics. I had developed a reputation for creating compelling interactives by combining custom hardware installations with data-intensive software implementations. Meanwhile, my local (at the time) science museum was looking to modernize some of their showings to appeal to kids raised with computers and video games.

The critical point came when the museum was getting ready to ask their administration for permission to raise the ticket price. There was a derelict installation smack in the middle of the solar system gallery and everyone knew you couldn't charge more for blight, so they asked me to take something I already had and install it with zero budget in zero time. So I did.

Since then, new installations have been driven by new funding. By this time the museum staff are good friends and close collaborators, and we meet semi-regularly at the trade shows to talk about things we could do. They write a grant proposal and, if successful, we work together to make it happen. If it's good, it spreads.

In summary, I'm afraid it just happened.
posted by rlk at 8:37 AM on September 18, 2011

I got into the final four for a curator job at the Science Museum in London. I had just finished a PhD and they happened to want someone in my field, basically get some science qualfications, try to go for electives that relate to public understanding or coomunication of science, and keep your fingers crossed.
posted by biffa at 9:45 AM on September 18, 2011

A friend who used to work in this field suggested contacting ASTC, the Association of Science-Technology Centers. Good luck!
posted by lukemeister at 2:18 PM on September 20, 2011

lukemeister, good point. ASTC (pronounced almost like "Aztec") is loaded with Science-Ed professionals. Not many of them will be directly in the exhibits game, judging by people at my former employer who went to the annual ASTC conference, but they do help with A) developing exhibit science content, and B) develop exhibit co-curricula for teachers to teach as they lead up to the field trip to the Science Museum.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:23 AM on September 21, 2011