While we still have a lot of work to do on the exhibit before it ships in just over a month, we’re excited about how fabrication is coming along and we think people will enjoy seeing how we design and fabricate these exhibits. We’re looking forward to meeting everyone on Monday and hope the day of activities will spark new ideas and creativity for everyone involved!

The conference was held in El Dorado this year, and our first day there included a tour of four museums and art galleries in the town. We were all impressed by the variety and quality of muesums in El Dorado, and thoroughly enjoyed the delicious food and entertainment at each stop. None of us expected that we would be going out for a spin in a WWII Willys Jeep when we woke up that morning!

As exhibitors, we were allowed to set up a booth in the civic center conference hall to feature our company. We decided to forgo the typical booth, and instead brought three examples of traveling museum exhibits we have developed with NEH on the Road, Mid-America Arts Alliance, and Kauffman Museum. After setting up sections of “Bison”, “Our Lives Our Stories”, and “K is for Kansas” we attended a couple of very interesting seminars and spent the rest of the afternoon and following day talking to old and new friends.

If you stopped by our booth to say hello but would have liked more time to talk with us, we would love to hear from you!

Our "booth" at KMA 2010

We’re really excited to attend some interesting seminars, make new connections, and get back in contact with old friends.  Hopefully we’ll see some of you at the conference; we would love it if you stopped by our booth to chat!

To learn more about the annual KMA conference or to sign up to attend, visit the KMA website here.

We were extremely pleased by the turnout and the great questions asked during the Q&A time.  One attendee asked us what the most difficult part of designing a traveling exhibit is.  After giving this some thought, we concluded that one the most difficult parts of designing and building traveling exhibits is developing an exhibit system that can fill a large venue, but still work in a small venue without making the exhibit seem crowded.  As we continue to build exhibits, we continue to find new ways to fill the space in a venue without overbuilding the exhibit.

Thanks to everyone who came out to our presentation, and to everyone who visited The Bison: American Icon during Fall Fest.  And if you haven’t seen the exhibit yet, you still have time!  Bison will be at Kaufman Museum on the Bethel College campus until October 24.

To learn more about The Bison: American Icon, visit the NEH on the Road website.

It was fascinating to hear perspectives from all levels of the exhibit development process, highlighting challenges faced along the way and innovative solutions to those challenges. It was also great to talk with people from the institutions who host the exhibits, and to brainstorm with them about possibilities for supplemental programming and promotion.

Thanks to those who attended. And for those who missed it, give us a call–we’d be glad to fill you in!

Update:

A few days ago we received feedback from our AASLH presentation. Everyone who rated our presentation gave us an overall rating of 10/10, and one person even said it was the best session they attended while they were there. Once again, thank you to everyone who came and visited us at the AASLH conference!

After graduating from Bethel College (KS) with degrees in chemistry and education, Abe spent a year doing Mennonite Voluntary Service in Tuscon, Arizona. Abe’s work with a home construction and repair project gave him a chance to sharpen both his carpentry and project management skills, and a chance to contemplate future direction. His work ethic a fun-loving outlook on life will be a great fit for Flint Hills Design.

Abe will be in charge of a new collaborative project between Flint Hills Design and Kauffman Museum, focusing on creating products for the museum market.  He will also play a major role in helping to develop a 2,000 sq. ft. traveling exhibit sponsored by the Mid-America Arts Alliance and the National Endowment for the Humanities.