[Robotgroup] Childrens Museum Request For Proposals (RFP)

[Vern Graner]

Read the original here:

http://www.notepad.org/museum.pdf

Entire text is here:

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July 25, 2007


Request for Proposals

 From January 19 – September 21 2008, Austin Children’s Museum (ACM) 
will feature Play It By Ear, a 1,000 square foot interactive exhibit for 
young children and families produced by the Bay Area Children’s Museum. 
The exhibit consists primarily of 8 “sound art” sculptures by Bay Area 
artists.  A brief description is attached.

Consistent with it’s recently revised mission to “equip and inspire the 
next generation of creative problem solvers”, ACM added to the Play It 
By Ear exhibit title the tag line The Art and Science of Tinkering with 
Sound. To deepen the science content of the exhibit, in-house staff will 
develop several additional interactive components focused on how sound 
is produced, what makes music and how we hear.  To highlight local 
creative problem solving talents, ACM seeks to commission inventive 
interactive works relating to sound or music from Austin area 
artists/tinkerers.  A total of $10,000 will be awarded for 2-4 winning 
proposals of either 1) new works that will become part of the museum’s 
exhibit collection or 2) existing work to be installed at the museum 
during the exhibit venue. Winning submissions will propose safe, 
durable, attractive works that complement the core Play It By Ear 
exhibit components and offer minds on/hands on engagement to educate and 
delight up to 160,000 children ages 2-12 and families, including school 
groups. Design parameters and proposal format are attached.


Proposal deadline: Friday August 17, 2007
Award notification: By August 31, 2007

Submit proposals to:
Erich Rose, Exhibit Manager
201 Colorado Street
Austin, Texas 78701


DESIGN PARAMETERS
§	Fits within a footprint of 100 square feet (i.e. 10’ x 10’)
§	Artist to transport and install the work at the museum the week of 
January 14-18, 2008 and remove it, if applicable, between September 15 
and 17, 2008

General Guidelines
Family friendly design
§	Both children and adults can use the exhibit easily.
§	Exhibit format encourages interaction among several visitors, 
especially children and adults, but always provides an experience for a 
single person.
§	Visitor experience is open-ended, i.e. there are multiple outcomes, as 
much freedom to experiment as possible and interactive modes that allow 
new experiences with multiple visits.  Avoid "push same button, get same 
result" design.
§	Visual design guides visitors to its use automatically – interaction 
is intuitive, does not require written or verbal instructions.
§	Mechanisms can be easily manipulated, are visually pleasing and 
applicable to experience in daily life.
§	Mechanical parts are exposed to view, if possible.
§	If exhibit is alterable by viewer, it resets itself for the next visitor.
§	Is accessible to visitors with a variety of physical and learning 
abilities and styles – multi-sensory.

Safety, durability and ease of maintenance
§	Safe for unsupervised use by children as young as 2 years – i.e. no 
loose parts that pose choking hazard, no sharp corners. ACM reserves the 
right to determine the safety and appropriateness of the proposed and 
finished work.
§	Exhibit is accessible for people with wheelchairs or walking aids
§	Easily wiped clean and minor repairs can be accomplished by museum staff


PROPOSAL FORMAT
§	Brief written description of the proposed work that clearly states how 
visitors will interact with it. What will they do? What will they learn? 
How will it spark their curiosity about sound, music, musical 
instruments, hearing, auditory perception, etc?
§	Schematic drawings or photos of the proposed or similar work
§	General specifications: dimensions, electrical requirements, sound 
characteristics, sound attenuation, ceiling height, and any special 
considerations like ambient light
§	Personal resume and at least 2 references
§	Statement about willingness/interest/availability to demonstrate to 
children and the general public the science and creative process behind 
your interactive work during exhibit opening events and at other times 
during the exhibit venue
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hmmm... :)

Vern

-- 
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