Discovery Nook

I opened the door to my house and in one swift motion walked right out of my shoes, slumped my purse and bags off my shoulders, and belly-flopped onto the couch. It was another long day at work, and I dreamed of dozing off to the first mind-numbing show I could find. I allowed myself to spend a mere five minutes sprawled on the couch before whipping up a quick dinner, sowing new seeds in my garden plot, and then running over to spend the night watching a colleague's plump cat. There were only a few days left before I traveled to Chicago for a week, and my "Discovery Nook" project was nowhere near finished.

Over the course of multiple summers here, I've noticed young Museum visitors crowd into one particular corner of our building to pull items from an old wooden cabinet. Staff affectionately referred to this as the pelt cabinet as a number of specimens, including pelts, lived inside it--a couple dozen mammal pelts, some skulls, plaster animal tracks, and even some turtle shells to be exact. But our affection for the cabinet itself waned, and so this winter it was time for a makeover. 

At the same time there was a need for updating another area of that same room, so it was only natural that we decided to move all of the touchable specimens into a new home. With a little inspiration from here and there, I began imagining a Discovery Nook. 

Without the display case that was previously housed
in this odd space, I wanted to find a way to make it useful again.

There were a few hiccups along the way as what I envisioned did not turn out the same in practice:

I wanted a cheery color for the walls that would invite children and adults in. 

Take note that "Anjou Pear" is quite the color.

...But I didn't expect to be greeted by neon green. So, I added some stenciled dragonflies in a darker shade to break up the color (thanks to a suggestion from our Assistant Director, Leslie).  

I knew that I would take a long time to paint,
so I opted for the simple dragonfly which happens to
be the Museum's logo image.

I wanted children to be able to feel the many small natural objects we've kept in our exhibits for years.

...But I didn't want to watch such interesting objects break or vanish. So, I made sure that each item could be handled from a safe and secure position.

Each item placed in our Discovery Nook drawers is fixed in place
but visitors may still feel them all. 

I wanted to fill the space with as many items as possible. 

While the storage room is innately crowded, areas for the public don't have to be.

...But realized that often less is more. So, I reigned myself in.

I was so pleased to be able to create an area--nearly from scratch, too-- where visitors can handle specimens without fear of being scolded by an otherwise friendly Curator. After all, experiencing the world with as many senses as possible can be very rewarding. Although I'll be away for the conference during the first week of installation, I can't wait to witness how visitors use the new Discovery Nook.