Assignment:
A City Museum
Great cities are often known for great museums that are devoted to many subjects. Paris, France, has the Musée du Louvre; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has the Museu Histórico Nacional; and Chicago, Illinois, has the Museum of Science and Industry. For your Final Project, imagine that you have been chosen as the director of a new museum dedicated to your city.
Note: If you do not live in a city, focus on the place you live or on a city that you know about.
Milestone One
MUSEUM FOCUS
The local government has decided to build a museum devoted to your city. However, the city officials would like to focus the museum on a singular theme or perspective. The members have narrowed the choice of themes to the following four:
o Industry and Commerce
o History and Natural History
o Science and Technology
o Arts and Culture
To Complete this Milestone you are to:
1.Offer a brief description of your city and its residents (geographical location, size, a breakdown of ethnicities & classes, major employers etc.)
2.Decide on your museum's focus (Industry and Commerce, History, Science and Technology, or Arts and Culture). Describe concrete ways in which this focus is evident in or important to your city.
3. Explain how the focus you chose answers the needs of or represents the citizens of your city.
4. Describe how this focus is appealing to visitors from outside your city.
Milestone Two
MUSEUM CONTENT
Here we begin to look at how this new museum will provide important resources to the citizens of your city. The city officials would like you to decide on an exciting permanent exhibit that is consistent with the chosen theme of your museum by:
1.Describing what you feel should become the most important permanent exhibit in your new museum.
2.Explaining how this permanent exhibit will use objects, themes, and ideas to represent the citizens who make up the city and/or will meet the needs of the city's residents.
Milestone Three
MUSEUM SITE
To insure a maximum flow of visitors to your museum the city council has also narrowed down the possible site of your museum to three areas. They are:
1.An existing block with numerous low income housing units, including a midrise building with subsidized housing. The block cuts off two areas that have seen an increase in investment, including boutique shops, restaurants, and housing redevelopment. Many people in the two neighborhoods would like to see the two areas "connected" by the museum development.
2. A block near the waterfront and near other cultural venues.
The block contains an historic building that would be demolished for the proposed museum, which is designed by a famous architect. The historic building is architecturally significant in its own right but is run down and would need major renovations to fit a museum.
3. A plot of land near a newly constructed highway. A farmer recently sold the land, and much of it is zoned for new housing developments and large retail stores. Although the area of land has been cleared for development, some groups think that there should be more time spent on an environmental impact study. The land is in a large watershed area that drains to a distant but vital body of water.
As the director, you must:
1.Choose the museum's site from the options offered.
2 Find and summarize at least two articles which help to justify and support your choice of museum site (You will be asked to download and complete anannotated bibliography worksheet of these newly found articles).
3.Explain the links between the type of museum and the chosen site.
4.Identify at least one opposing viewpoint related to the site you select.
5.Address the opposing viewpoint and explain why it is not relevant, or explain how you can accommodate that viewpoint in the site selection.
Please be sure to read the specific instructions for each of these Milestones contained within your weekly assignment menus.
And finally, you will pull all three Final Project Milestones together into one document, make any necessary revisions, and incorporate any needed Instructor Feedback to produce a Final Museum Proposal which you will present to the City Council.