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Bringing designs to life at the Museum of Science and kicking creativity into high gear at the Museum of Fine Arts

Whether fine art is your fancy or scientific exploration is more your speed. It's easy to get lost in a museum. Anthony Everett dives into a new exhibit at the Museum of Science and then heads over to the galleries of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Updated: 8:20 PM EDT Aug 24, 2022

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FIRST WE WILL DIVE INTO AN EXHIBIT AT THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE. ENTERTAINMENT AND EDUCATION GO HAND IN HAND AT BOSTONS MUSEUM OF SCIENCE. >> EXHIBITS, SOMETIMES THE SUCCESSFUL COMPONENT FOR US WOULD BE 30 SECONDS, A FULL MINUTE. WE ARE TESTING AND PEOPLE WOULD STAY FOR UPWARDS OF 30 MINUTES. THEY REALLY WANTED TO SOLVE THE CHALLENGE AND WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE REALLY EXCITED. ANTHONY: OLIVIA BEALE DEVELOPS THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. SHE SAYS HANDS ON EXHIBITS THAT ARE COLLABORATIVE ARE THE MOST POPULAR, WITH CHILDREN AND PARENTS. >> WE WANT THEM TO -- WE WANTED THERE TO BE THINGS FOR ADULTS, FOR THE PARENTS IN THE GROUP. WE WANT THERE TO BE THINGS IN THE GALLERY FOR THE VERY YOUNGEST KIDS, SO KIDS YOUNGER THAN FIVE WEVE GOT A GOOD CENTER OF ACTIVITIES. WE HOPE THERE IS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE. ANTHONY: I KNEW ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE WORKSHOP HELPS BRING DESIGN CONCEPTS TO LIFE. >> WE THOUGHT HOW WE TEACH THEM COMPUTERS OR COMPUTER SCIENCE, IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT HOW THE COMPUTERS WORK. IT IS ALSO HOW CAN YOU USE THEM TO SOLVE PROBLEMS? ANTHONY: I TOOK ON THE DIVE AND SPLASH CHALLENGE. THE INTERACTIVE EXHIBIT DEMONSTRATES HOW ENGINEERS TAKE ON DESIGN CHALLENGES. >> WE WANT YOU TO BUILD A DIVER PHYSICALLY THAT WILL SHOW UP IN THIS VIRTUAL WORLD AND YOU CAN CHOOSE IF YOU WANT YOUR DIVER TO DIVE REALLY DEEP. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE A WIDE GIANT SPLASH OR IF YOU WANTED IT TO BE A SMALL SPLASH. ANTHONY: OK, LETS GO FOR TALL SPLASH. >> WE WILL GO WITH THE HEIGHT HERE AND THIS WILL COLLECT DATA. SO YOU CAN CREATE YOUR DIVER WITH ANY THREE OF THE SHAPES IN FRONT OF YOU. ANTHONY: OK. >> YOU ARE READY TO SCAN. AND THEN WHAT YOU WOULD DESIGN WILL SHOW UP THERE. AND THEN YOU CAN DROP IT. ANTHONY: OH, THAT WASNT BAD. >> ENGINEERS DO NOT BUILD ANYTHING PERFECT THE FIRST TIME, SO THAT WAS YOUR HEIGHT RECORD SO FAR. 7.7 CENTIMETERS. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN GET EVEN HIGHER? ANTHONY: WE ARE GOING TO TRY. >> I LIKE IT. ANTHONY: OH, IT WENT DOWN PRETTY FAR THOUGH. THAT WAS MY WORST SPLASH. THE EXHIBIT IS DESIGNED TO HELP MAKE THE PRINCIPLES OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE ACCESSIBLE. PERHAPS, IT WILL INSPIRE THE NEXT BIG IDEA. >> 10 OR 15 YEARS AGO, IF YOU ASK KIDS WHAT ENGINEERS DO, THEY MIGHT SAY THINGS LIKE DRIVETRAINS AND FIX CARS. AND NOW, I THINK IT HAS BECOME PART OF THE VOCABULARY, THAT THEY ARE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVERS. I LIKE TO THINK THIS IS A PROBLEM-SOLVING COMMUNITY IN BOSTON. AND WE CAN FOSTER THE NEXT GENERATION. ANTHONY: BOSTONS MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS IS AN INSTITUTION THAT CELEBRATES CREATIVITY. BUT DURING THE PANDEMIC, MUSEUM STAFF HAD TO KICK CREATIVITY INTO AN EVEN HIGHER GEAR. >> VERY DIFFICULT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WE COULD DO AT THE MUSEUM, WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. IT WAS CLOSED AT THE TIME. ANTHONY: DESPITE THE CHALLENGES, CURATOR MICHELLE MILLER FISCHER AND HER COLLEAGUES WORKED TOGETHER, VIRTUALLY, TO DEVELOP A NEW EXHIBIT. FIRST, THEY CRAFTED A LONG LIST OF ART OBJECTS AT THE MUSEUM -- THAT THE MUSEUM HAD ACQUIRED. THE TEAM THEN SHARED THE LIST WITH COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE MUSEUM. WITH THE HOPE OF PAIRING THE NEWER ITEMS WITH GEMS FROM THE MUSEUM FAULT. >> VERY COLLABORATIVE PROJECT. ANTHONY: CURATORS CONSERVATRS AND DESIGNERS FOLLOWED A FEW GUIDELINES TO MAKE NEW LIGHT ENCOUNTERS AND CONNECTIONS WORK. >> FIRST, IT HAD TO BE IF YOURE BRINGING SOMETHING, CAN IT BE SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER BEEN ON DISPLAY BEFORE? WEVE ALSO SAID IT HAD TO BE SOMETHING THAT WAS EASY TO GET OUT. AND THIS WAS EASY HERE. ANTHONY: MUCH OF THE ART ON DISPLAY IS BY LOCAL ARTISTS, INCLUDING ROCKS NATIVE STEPHEN HAMILTON. >> THIS PIECE WAS CALLED JOSEPH LEWIS. ITS PART OF THE FOUNDERS PROJECT WHICH IMAGINED THE LEGENDARY PROGENITORS OF AFRICAN GROUPS. ANTHONY: HAMILTONS WORK IS PLAYED WITH -- IS PAIRED WITH A CLOTH MADE IN NIGERIA. >> WHAT IS INTERESTING ABOUT THESE PIECES AND HOW THEY ARE COMPARED, WE SEE CROSSOVER IN TERMS OF TRADITION AND ALSO FUNCTION OF THE TEXTILES. ANTHONY: BOSTON BASED ARTISAN EVAN HAYNES CREATED SHELTER-IN-PLACE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COVID LOCKDOWN, TO KEEP HIMSELF BUSY. >> TO TURN THIS INTO A GALLERY FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO SEND US THEIR WORK, THEIR MINIATURE WORK, AND YOU CAN SHOW IT ONLINE. WE WERE LOCKED OUT OF OUR STUDIOS AND GALLERIES WERE CLOSED AND MUSEUMS WERE CLOSED. IT WAS A WAY TO GET PEOPLES WORK OUT THERE, GIVE THEM A REASON TO START MAKING THINGS AGAIN. ANTHONY: THE SHELTER-IN-PLACE GALLERY FEATURES A SCULPTURE BY JAMAICA PLAIN ARTIST ALLISON MOSES. >> THIS WAS AN OPPORTUNITY AND A TIME WHERE I HAD NOT BEEN WORKING. I HAD NOT BEEN MAKING ACTUAL PHYSICAL OBJECTS IN A WHILE, SO I JUMPED AT IT. AT THE SAME TIME, WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PANDEMIC AND RACIAL AWAKENING HAPPENING, VERY PUBLIC MURDERS OF BLACK PEOPLE ON THE NEWS. SO IT FELT LIKE A TIME WHERE CHAOS WAS HAPPENING AROUND YOU AND A LOT OF SORROW. FOR ME, BEING ABLE TO GET BACK INTO WORKING FELT AMAZING. ANTHONY: MICHELLE MILLER FISHER HOPES THE EXHIBIT INSPIRES VISITORS AND SPARKS CONVERSATION. >> I REALLY HOPE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT A MUSEUM IS MADE UP OF MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARTWORKS THAT TELL MANY TYPES OF STORIES. AND I HOPE THEY FIND A STORY THAT IS MEANINGFUL TO THEM. SHAYNA: WHILE MANY MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES ARE NOW BACK OPEN SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC, THE MINIATURE SHELTER-IN-PLACE EXHIBIT CAN ONLY BE FOUND IN EBEN BAINES GALLERIES INSTAGRAM PAGE. ANTHONY: MEANWHILE, THE MFA IS GETTING READY TO OPEN THE TOUR FOR THE OBAMA PORTRAITS TOUR, THE OFFICIAL PORTRAITS OF BARA

Bringing designs to life at the Museum of Science and kicking creativity into high gear at the Museum of Fine Arts

Whether fine art is your fancy or scientific exploration is more your speed. It's easy to get lost in a museum. Anthony Everett dives into a new exhibit at the Museum of Science and then heads over to the galleries of the Museum of Fine Arts.

Updated: 8:20 PM EDT Aug 24, 2022

Entertainment and education go hand in hand at Bostons Museum of Science. A new engineering and computer science workshop helps bring design concepts to life. Bostons Museum of Fine Arts is an institution that celebrates creativity. But during the pandemic, museum staff had to kick creativity into an even higher gear.

Entertainment and education go hand in hand at Bostons Museum of Science. A new engineering and computer science workshop helps bring design concepts to life.

Bostons Museum of Fine Arts is an institution that celebrates creativity. But during the pandemic, museum staff had to kick creativity into an even higher gear.

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Bringing designs to life at the Museum of Science - WCVB Boston