Discover shows related to Making the Museum, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
Testing the Right Thing at the Right Time, with Jessica Sickler
Episode 71
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 • Duration 01:11:14
Why can’t we just ask our visitors what they want?
Why bother evaluating our design ideas? Which type of evaluation is the biggest bang for your buck? Why is “timing and tracking” a great way to find out if your exhibition works? What is the “button-mashing code?”
Jessica Sickler (Principal, J. Sickler Consulting) discusses “Testing the Right Thing at the Right Time” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: Lego, dinosaurs, and Monets.
Talking Points:
1. Reasons (plural) to evaluate in museums 2. Mapping evaluation stages to project stages 3. Visitors can’t suggest a story they’ve never heard 4. Formative evaluation: the biggest bang for your buck 5. Timing, tracking, & the button mashing code 6. So. Many. Methods.
Jessica Sickler has spent 20 years as an evaluator, helping museum and education teams turn their questions and hunches about what's working into real evidence. As Principal of J. Sickler Consulting, she leads studies across the full arc of projects – from gauging visitor interest, to testing prototype ideas, to understanding what people actually take away from the experience. With training as a museum educator, classroom teacher, and in-house exhibit evaluator, Jessica approaches evaluation as a way to help designers and interpreters see their work through visitors' eyes. She holds an M.S.Ed. in Museum Education from Bank Street College of Education.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Innovation Secrets of the Museum of Science, with Mike Horvath
Episode 70
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 • Duration 01:13:29
[ASTC 2026 Special] Science changes fast. How can science museums keep up?
What’s a “technology toolkit”? Can one interactive turn into another? Can you do that same trick with a whole room? What about a whole exhibition? What’s “Wizard of Oz-ing”? Do constraints make for better design? How could museums work together to solve the challenges they all face? A special episode for ASTC 2026, where Mike will be speaking about this and more.
Mike Horvath (Vice President of Exhibits, Museum of Science, Boston) discusses “Innovation Secrets of the Museum of Science” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: Star Wars, Powers of Ten, and a lot of squirrels.
The 9/11 Museum, 25 Years After 9/11, with Mark Wagner
Episode 69
Wednesday, August 26, 2026 • Duration 01:20:19
A very special episode of Making the Museum, for the 25th Anniversary of 9/11.
The unique, unforgettable story of the architect who found himself on the 9/11 debris pile right after the tragedy, working for years to save artifacts for a museum he could only imagine. What do you do when your two largest museum artifacts aren’t there anymore? What is the “Bilbao Effect Upside Down”? How is architecture a stage for a story?
Mark Wagner (Design Principal, Arts & Culture Sector Leader, Stantec) discusses “The 9/11 Museum, 25 Years After 9/11” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: bicycling to Paris, recovering musicians, and an angel in a green gown.
Talking Points
1. Cathedral Memories 2. Selecting Artifacts from The Pile 3. Architecture as a Stage for a Story 4. The Greatest Artifact is the Site Itself 5. The Bilbao Effect, Upside Down 6. Recognizing Visitor Sensitivity
Improving the Visitor Experience with Data, with Ryan Auster
Episode 68
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 59:26
If we’re not studying our visitors, how can we fulfill our mission?
What is a net promoter score? And what should a museum’s net promoter score be? How do you ask a survey question if you want a meaningful answer? What is capacity building? What is COVES, and how can people get involved with it?
Ryan Auster (Manager of Learning Metrics, Museum of Science, Boston) discusses “Improving Visitor Experience with Data” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: OERs, excellent vs outstanding, and statistics 101.
Talking Points:
1. What is visitor studies? 2. What is COVES (Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experience Studies)? 3. Net Promoter Scores & Overall Experience Ratings 4. Drowning in data, but starving for wisdom 5. The Voice of the Visitor 6. How to join the COVES movement
What Museums Can Learn from Casinos, Theme Parks, Sports, and More, with Renée Hampton
Episode 67
Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 01:08:00
What could museums learn right now — from their competitors?
What’s happening out there that museums should know about? How can museums compete with a sports venue that has 18,000 seats, each with its own interactive controller? What do IP, KPI, and F&B mean? What if museums went out and learned from theme parks, advertising, corporate centers … and even casinos?
Renée Hampton (Strategic Partnerships Manager, Electrosonic) discusses “What Museums Can Learn from Casinos, Theme Parks, Sports, and More” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: eye tracking, Donkey Kong, and Cirque du Soleil.
Talking Points:
1. What sports experiences … can teach museums 2. What theme parks … can teach museums 3. What advertising activations … can teach museums 4. What corporate briefing centers … can teach museums 5. What casinos … can teach museums
Make Space for Change (The New Book), with Femke Bijlsma
Episode 66
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 • Duration 01:01:14
How can exhibitions create positive change in the world?
Why is play the key? How can we build trust with a community that doesn’t know us? Why should exhibition makers preserve their “beginner’s mind”? What can exhibitions do climate change, polarization and global conflict? How do we measure our impact?
Femke Bijlsma (Partner, Kossmanndejong) discusses “Make Space for Change (The New Book)” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: un-discipline, Santa Claus, and eating the story.
Talking Points:
1. Why Make Space for Change? 2. PLAY 3. ACTION 4. REPRESENTATION 5. CREATIVITY 6. IMPACT
Femke Bijlsma is a partner and content developer at Amsterdam-based design firm Kossmanndejong, creating immersive, narrative-driven spaces globally. Her work distinctively connects design with social goals, fostering meaningful inclusion and community empowerment. This approach shapes major projects like the Museum of the Mind, "Our Colonial Inheritance" at the Worldmuseum Amsterdam, and the UAE Pavilion for Expo 2020, alongside high-profile US work at the La Brea Tar Pits. Committed to positive change, Bijlsma co-founded the Refugee Company, chaired the Dutch Design Awards, and shares her expertise as a thought leader through regular international university lectures and workshops.
Liminal Space Research, with Dan Clevenger, Monika Smith, and Helen Ho
Episode 65
Tuesday, June 9, 2026 • Duration 53:03
Museum lobbies have a huge influence on visitor experience. But what makes a good lobby?
What is a “liminal space” in a museum? How does research actually work? What does “peer-reviewed research” actually mean? What do researchers hope their outcomes will be? Which department of a museum is even responsible for the lobby, and all the other “spaces in between”?
Dan Clevenger (Principal), Monika Smith (Principal), and Helen Ho (Senior Associate, Senior Design Researcher) from DLR Group discuss “Liminal Space Research” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio). Note: The "Liminal Space Research" project is in partnership with select art museum partners and cultural strategist Jill Snyder (Snyder Consultancy).
Along the way: wonder, awe, gaps in the literature, and all the spaghetti you can throw at a cupboard.
Talking Points:
1. DLR Group and the research team 2. What is a “liminal space”? 3. How research works 4. The peer review process 5. What the outcome will be 6. Sneak peek: things learned so far
“Building a Museum: This is Not a Manual” (the New Book), with Jamē Anderson, Monteil Crawley, Sarah Ghorbanian & Chris Wood
Episode 64
Tuesday, May 19, 2026 • Duration 01:04:12
How do you build a museum?
How do you build the right project team? How do you engage with community? What does it mean to plan a museum? What does it mean to design a museum? How do you align your budget with your purpose? How do you build the story of your museum project?
Jamē Anderson, Monteil Crawley, Sarah Ghorbanian, and Chris Wood from SmithGroup discuss “Building a Museum: This is Not a Manual (the New Book)” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: a one-year process that took ten years, a mystery fifth guest, and branching out to herbal supplements.
Talking Points:
1. Why a book like this? 2. How do I build the right project team, and what does it mean to engage with the community? 3. What does it mean to plan and design a museum? 4. How do I align budget with purpose? 5. How do you write a book? 6. How do I learn more from my network?
“Serious Fun” at First Americans Museum, with Shoshana Wasserman, Kimberly Rodriguez, and Bill Smith
Episode 63
Tuesday, February 3, 2026 • Duration 01:18:21
How do you design for all ages at the same time?
What is “serious fun”? Does nature ever go out of style? How do you create content for both Native and non-Native audiences? What do education staff do when a gallery has no text panels? What are “Native sensibilities”? Why is Blue Deer blue?
Shoshana Wasserman (Deputy Director) and Kimberly Rodriguez (New Media Specialist) from First Americans Museum, and Bill Smith (Principal, Storyline Studio) discuss “Serious Fun at the First Americans Museum” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: a 12-foot hawk, rotary phones, and Grandma Turtle’s Choctaw collar.
Talking Points:
1. What is FAM? 2. What is the "FAMily Discovery Center" project? 3. Native Sensibilities Taking Center Stage 4. Native and Human Values: Community, Respect, Resilience, and Stewardship 5. We are all connected. 6. The project is still growing.
What Is Sustainable Exhibition Design? with Douglas Flandro
Episode 62
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 • Duration 01:09:49
How can we make our exhibitions more sustainable — in every way?
Where do we start? What can museum teams learn from sustainability advancements in architecture? What’s a “red list?” What is the difference between embodied and operational carbon? What does it mean to do “design for deconstruction?” And when can we all buy the upcoming “Sustainable Museum Exhibition Handbook?”
Douglas Flandro (Exhibition Designer & Director of Sustainability, CambridgeSeven) discusses “What is Sustainable Exhibition Design?” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).
Along the way: museum egos, dark skies, and heat islands.
Talking Points:
1. Embracing Imperfection 2. Design for Human Health 3. Design for Social Health and Equity 4. Design for Ecosystem Health 5. Design for Climate Health 6. Design for the Circular Economy
Michael Horvath began his museum career as a designer at the Museum of Science in 1998. Today, as Vice President of Exhibits, he leads exhibit development for the Museum, which welcomes more than 1.3 million visitors annually.
Over the course of his career, Horvath has led the design of numerous high-profile exhibitions, including The Science of Pixar, which received the American Alliance of Museums' Excellence in Exhibition Award for Planning Process and the Association of Science-Technology Centers' Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Visitor Experience. More than a decade after its debut, two versions of The Science of Pixar continue to tour science centers and museums around the world. He also led the design of Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, which toured internationally for more than ten years and became one of the Museum's most successful traveling exhibitions.
In 2005, while promoting the Star Wars exhibition, Horvath made national headlines when he threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game dressed as Chewbacca. The image was featured in Sports Illustrated and picked up by media outlets across the country. Fortunately for him, few people recognized the person behind the Wookiee costume.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Mark Wagner, AIA, is a Design Principal in Stantec’s New York office and the firm’s Arts & Culture Sector Leader. With more than 30 years of experience, he has led the design of award-winning museums, cultural institutions, and civic projects from vision through realization. His practice focuses on experience-based design, exploring how architecture shapes memory, narrative, and human connection. Known for guiding multidisciplinary teams through complex cultural and technical challenges, Mark believes architecture can strengthen communities by creating meaningful public experiences. He advances this philosophy across Stantec’s global practice, championing design that enriches civic life through arts and culture.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Dr. Ryan Auster (he/him) is the Manager of Learning Metrics at the Museum of Science, Boston (MOS) where he serves as the Project Director of the Collaboration for Ongoing Visitor Experience Studies (COVES), a research initiative with 100+ museum members across the United States and Canada. Ryan has a passion for simplifying messy data, advocating for visualizations that tell stories to inform decision making and improve societal outcomes, and believes that collaborative projects make for stronger work. Before joining the museum field, he was a professional ski bum and an amateur long-distance athlete, but now he just chases his two young sons for physical activity.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Renée Hampton is passionate about bringing creativity and multidisciplinary partnerships into the way organizations design and build experiential attractions across industries. As Strategic Partnerships Manager at Electrosonic, she collaborates with architects, interior designers, exhibit designers, fabricators, media producers, and technology partners to develop innovative technology solutions for institutions, owners, and operators. With a background spanning film production, real-time interactive media production, and experiential events, Renée combines creative and technical expertise with partnership strategy, project management, and business development. She is dedicated to building strong relationships that help create immersive environments connecting people with spaces, stories, and technology through the power of design.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Dan Clevenger, AIA, LEED BD+C, Principal, Global Cultural + Performing Arts Leader, DLR Group. Dan Clevenger is an award-winning arts and cultural programmer, designer, and leader with more than two decades of experience across all phases of design and project development. His portfolio spans art museums, science centers, history museums, and natural history institutions, including the Heard Museum, Arizona Science Center, Chandler History Museum, C.N. Gorman Museum at UC Davis, the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and the University of Arizona Arts Master Plan. His work reflects a consistent commitment to institutions that strengthen their communities with purpose and longevity. Dan serves as a board member of the Western Museum Association and the Arizona State University Art Museum Creative Impact Board.
Monika Smith, AIA, Principal, Cultural+Performing Arts Design Leader, DLR Group. Monika Smith brings a rigorous design craft to some of the most complex museum environments in the country. A senior designer with 28 years of experience in cultural facilities and historic preservation, she is known for technically demanding work across new construction, adaptive reuse, and landmark renovation. Her portfolio includes the Albany Museum of Art, Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, Library of Congress Conservation Lab, and the Smithsonian Institution. Monika is a juror for the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums Buildy Awards.
Helen Ho, PhD, EDAC, Senior Associate, Senior Design Researcher, DLR Group. Helen Ho helps cultural institutions make informed, community-centered design decisions. With more than a decade of mixed-methods research experience, she connects stakeholder engagement, post-occupancy evaluation, and evidence-based frameworks to outcomes that matter: visitor wellbeing, spatial equity, and long-term institutional impact. She translates complex community needs into clear design metrics and research-informed strategies that support meaningful, people-centered spaces. Helen holds a Ph.D. in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan. She is an EDAC professional and an AIA Associate Member.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Jamē Andersonis a vice president and director of SmithGroup’s national team of architects, planners, and engineers who focus exclusively on cultural capital projects. Her career is dedicated to cultural institutions, having held roles at the National Gallery of Art and Smithsonian Institution in addition to her tenure at SmithGroup.
Monteil Crawleyis a senior principal at SmithGroup and a leading expert in the design of museums and cultural facilities, shaping a unique design vision for each facility and institution. He has spent his career with SmithGroup designing prominent spaces and places that celebrate and reveal the history and culture of the United States.
Sarah Ghorbanianis a principal at SmithGroup who specializes in the planning and project management of complex cultural projects. She is an expert at coordinating the intersection of architecture and exhibition design to create compelling, holistic, and engaging experiences for museum audiences.
Chris Woodis a vice president at SmithGroup and leads the firm’s Washington, D.C., studio of design and engineering specialists devoted to cultural projects. He leads design teams for cultural capital projects of all scales and is a recognized expert in the planning and design of museums and collections facilities.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Shoshana Wasserman (Muscogee Creek/Thlopthlocco Tribal Town citizen) began with a vision to weave culture, education, and community into meaningful spaces. For over 20 years, she helped bring First Americans Museum to life. A founding team member and Deputy Director, she oversees operations, guest services, and the store supporting Native artists. As co-curator of the FAMily Discovery Center, she champions immersive storytelling, tribal collaboration, and joyful design—all anchored in her belief We Are All Connected.
For 18 years, Kimberly Rodriguez (Muscogee/Oglala Sioux) has been part of the FAM journey—from name changes to documenting the site “from the ground to the mound.” A co-curator of two exhibitions and a proud member of the powerhouse Communications team, she blends professionalism with a Looney Tunes sense of humor. With deep pride in promoting the stories of 39 tribes in Oklahoma today, Kimberly brings heart, wit, and collaboration to everything she does—because like water, humor is life.
Bill Smith, Principal of Storyline Studio, brings over 40 years of experience as one of the nation’s leading exhibition designers. Formerly partner and design director at West Office Exhibition Design, he led award-winning projects for history, science, and cultural institutions. In 2003, he founded Storyline Studio to further his creative vision. His work has earned accolades from the Industrial Designers Society of America, AAM’s CurCom, and the Society for Environmental Graphic Design.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly email about exhibitions for museum leaders and teams. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
Drawing on his background in theater and film design, Douglas Flandro is especially interested in sustainable exhibit design, new technologies, immersive experiences, experiential graphic design and hands-on interactive exhibits. He has designed exhibits and graphics for numerous science museums, children’s museums, nature and visitor centers, aquariums, and zoos. As the firm’s Director of Sustainability, Douglas leads CambridgeSeven’s Sustainable Working Group and has taught and lectured at AAM, ASTC, Parson’s School of Design, and the Rhode Island School of Design. He is the author of the forthcoming book, “The Sustainable Exhibition Handbook,” due to be released in the Spring of 2026.
About Making the Museum:
Making the Museum is hosted (podcast) and written (newsletter) by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.
Like the show? You might enjoy the newsletter. Making the Museum is also a free weekly professional development email for exhibition practitioners, museum leaders, and visitor experience professionals. (And newsletter subscribers are the first to hear about new episodes of this podcast.)
Join hundreds of your peers with a one-minute read, three times a week. Invest in your career with a diverse, regular feed of planning and design insights, practical tips, and tested strategies — including thought-provoking approaches to technology, experience design, audience, budgeting, content, and project management.
