The Gossips
acrylic on wide canvas/ 12” by 36” / $ 325
Going Viral
In 1972 I was developing my first museum, Impression 5 Science Museum in Lansing, Michigan. It was frustrating, in part, because I did not know what I was doing. I certainly was naïve! It was also exciting because my university friends and I would brainstorm ideas for exhibits, go into our work rooms and make devices that explained science. We took the results of our creative endeavors (not always well made) to schools and shopping centers. Our goal was to eventually create a hands-on place for children and adults to play creatively with science and the arts.
This effort was done under the radar of the press until a newspaper reporter wrote a small article about the fledgling museum. Once in print, our project was legitimatized and I became swept into a maelstrom of activity and purpose. A few people did come forth as a result of the article but not much happened because I did not have money and did not know who or how to ask for it. Though determined, was very inexperienced.
My girlfriend and I went around town talking to community leaders about our project and people listened politely. The mayor’s assistant said I had to wait in line for my project to be considered and that might take five years. The man in charge of the YMCA told me that our museum would not get off the ground because “there were only two things that were important, one was sports and the other was sex.” Impression 5 was about neither.
One frustrating day when I was at my desk which a kind school let me occupy when not being used as a lunchroom, I read that Playboy Bunnies would play sporting events with local celebrities to raise money for charity. Wow! Sports and Sex! I had it made. I called up the Detroit club and sure enough, they were willing to play basketball against our community leaders. In those days the leaders were all men. I invited school superintendents, the mayor, the head of Oldsmobile, the university president, real estate moguls, and other community businessmen of note and money to join the game. No one man turned me down. We acquired Jennison Field House at Michigan State to hold the game and plans were under way.
Except. . . a small article appeared in the editorial section of the newspaper saying that a group of women objected to the game. This was a time of awakening at the start of the women’s liberation movement and sensitivities about women’s issues were mounting. An organized group from the high school and university planned to picket the event causing a few of our volunteer players to opt out of the game.
To prove I was not supporting male chauvinism, I called Michigan State’s Women’s Basketball team and asked them to help as a practice team. They agreed. Six women played in the practice game causing our volunteer men had to be rotated every few minutes to avoid having a heart attack. The difference in skill level was incredible.
The more tried to soften the women’s issue the more newspaper articles fanned the controversy. We didn’t know what to do. Should we cancel the game or proceed surrounded by pickets? Ticket sales were dismal.
Mother nature helped us make the decision. The night before the game it started to rain, and rain, and rain. Rivers flooded their banks and the field house court was drenched in two feet of water. The entire town was needed to sandbag riverbanks.
We never did have the charity event but the museum got under way. It was this event that taught me that that bad publicity is more likely to get people’s attention. The museum concept had gone viral. People loved the idea of the museum but they enjoyed the controversy over women’s rights more and followed arguments in detail. By the time the flood ended, Lansing residents knew about the fledgling science and art museum. Many were ready to join our effort. Impression 5 Science Museum now thrives in its forty-fourth year.
Today, when I think about the false information that is widely being circulated through the media, I remember the lessons I learned so many years ago. The difference is that when information goes viral through the net, it travels faster and is convoluted much like the childhood game, “whispering down the line.” The story changes slightly each time it is repeated until the listener turns it into what he or she wants to hear. A lesson to us all. Beware and check facts so misinformation is never passed on.
Stories about the start of the nation’s hands-on museum movement can be found in Lives of Museum Junkies. Any new venture takes perseverance, dedication and a willingness to learn from your mistakes. I would love to hear your experiences in embracing a new enterprise, whether it is a club, hobby or business. Did you succeed? Fail? Learn? How did you spread the word?
Please share your comments below.
Artwork is always for sale: Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com.
________________
Lives of Museum Junkies: The Story of America’s Hands-On Education Movement
Available at Powells Books, Annie Blooms Books, MAC Emporium, Broadway Books, and on line at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
SAVE THE DATE: February 9th – Annie Blooms Books, Multnomah Village, Portland, OR – Book talk and signing for Lives of Museum Junkies. The event starts at 7 PM.
Home » Blog » Going Viral
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The Gossips
acrylic on wide canvas/ 12” by 36” / $ 325
Going Viral
In 1972 I was developing my first museum, Impression 5 Science Museum in Lansing, Michigan. It was frustrating, in part, because I did not know what I was doing. I certainly was naïve! It was also exciting because my university friends and I would brainstorm ideas for exhibits, go into our work rooms and make devices that explained science. We took the results of our creative endeavors (not always well made) to schools and shopping centers. Our goal was to eventually create a hands-on place for children and adults to play creatively with science and the arts.
This effort was done under the radar of the press until a newspaper reporter wrote a small article about the fledgling museum. Once in print, our project was legitimatized and I became swept into a maelstrom of activity and purpose. A few people did come forth as a result of the article but not much happened because I did not have money and did not know who or how to ask for it. Though determined, was very inexperienced.
My girlfriend and I went around town talking to community leaders about our project and people listened politely. The mayor’s assistant said I had to wait in line for my project to be considered and that might take five years. The man in charge of the YMCA told me that our museum would not get off the ground because “there were only two things that were important, one was sports and the other was sex.” Impression 5 was about neither.
One frustrating day when I was at my desk which a kind school let me occupy when not being used as a lunchroom, I read that Playboy Bunnies would play sporting events with local celebrities to raise money for charity. Wow! Sports and Sex! I had it made. I called up the Detroit club and sure enough, they were willing to play basketball against our community leaders. In those days the leaders were all men. I invited school superintendents, the mayor, the head of Oldsmobile, the university president, real estate moguls, and other community businessmen of note and money to join the game. No one man turned me down. We acquired Jennison Field House at Michigan State to hold the game and plans were under way.
Except. . . a small article appeared in the editorial section of the newspaper saying that a group of women objected to the game. This was a time of awakening at the start of the women’s liberation movement and sensitivities about women’s issues were mounting. An organized group from the high school and university planned to picket the event causing a few of our volunteer players to opt out of the game.
To prove I was not supporting male chauvinism, I called Michigan State’s Women’s Basketball team and asked them to help as a practice team. They agreed. Six women played in the practice game causing our volunteer men had to be rotated every few minutes to avoid having a heart attack. The difference in skill level was incredible.
The more tried to soften the women’s issue the more newspaper articles fanned the controversy. We didn’t know what to do. Should we cancel the game or proceed surrounded by pickets? Ticket sales were dismal.
Mother nature helped us make the decision. The night before the game it started to rain, and rain, and rain. Rivers flooded their banks and the field house court was drenched in two feet of water. The entire town was needed to sandbag riverbanks.
We never did have the charity event but the museum got under way. It was this event that taught me that that bad publicity is more likely to get people’s attention. The museum concept had gone viral. People loved the idea of the museum but they enjoyed the controversy over women’s rights more and followed arguments in detail. By the time the flood ended, Lansing residents knew about the fledgling science and art museum. Many were ready to join our effort. Impression 5 Science Museum now thrives in its forty-fourth year.
Today, when I think about the false information that is widely being circulated through the media, I remember the lessons I learned so many years ago. The difference is that when information goes viral through the net, it travels faster and is convoluted much like the childhood game, “whispering down the line.” The story changes slightly each time it is repeated until the listener turns it into what he or she wants to hear. A lesson to us all. Beware and check facts so misinformation is never passed on.
Stories about the start of the nation’s hands-on museum movement can be found in Lives of Museum Junkies. Any new venture takes perseverance, dedication and a willingness to learn from your mistakes. I would love to hear your experiences in embracing a new enterprise, whether it is a club, hobby or business. Did you succeed? Fail? Learn? How did you spread the word?
Please share your comments below.
Artwork is always for sale: Contact me at marilynne@eichingerfineart.com.
________________
Lives of Museum Junkies: The Story of America’s Hands-On Education Movement
Available at Powells Books, Annie Blooms Books, MAC Emporium, Broadway Books, and on line at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
SAVE THE DATE: February 9th – Annie Blooms Books, Multnomah Village, Portland, OR – Book talk and signing for Lives of Museum Junkies. The event starts at 7 PM.
Table of Contents