I really like the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh. They've managed to blur the lines between research space and public space very effectively, and visitors can't help but notice that "there's some science going on in here" as they tour the museum. Many of the labs may even be entered by visitors. (Granted, they had very large facilities and significant financial resources to work with.)
Another one worth a look is the new Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City. Visitors don't have direct access to the collection room (without some prior arrangement), but in the gallery there are large windows that allow them to see into the collection room. Specimens that are especially interesting or noteworthy are often placed near the windows, so the view offers more than rows of white steel cabinets.
Many museums with paleontology programs have windows in the gallery that look into the paleontology lab, so that visitors can get a glimpse "behind the scenes", and some are even set up to allow dialog between staff and public. These are often among the most popular features in the museum. See the Smithsonian or the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology for examples.
I really like the idea of reminding the public that a museum is much more than its exhibits, and letting them get a glimpse of the collections maintained and to understand them as the core of active scientific research certainly sends that message. In the case of state (often university) or federal museums, these collections are literally "our stuff", and I think it's important for visitors to understand that they have a stake in their preservation and care. If they don't see them, they often don't think of museums in that way. Thanks for thinking in this direction!
Michael
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Michael Holland
Principal/Owner
Michael Holland Productions
Bozeman MT
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-11-2015 04:49 PM
From: Susannah Carroll
Subject: visible collections storage and education/research spaces
In terms of innovative design and layout in museums, by what visible collections storage and education/research spaces have you been inspired?
We are designing a much-needed update of our collections storage to include a visible storage element and a research area for guests. Currently, public and internal research occurs in ferreted-out areas of the 1930s building, and a small percentage of our artifacts are on the floor (primarily we have hands-on interactive exhibits). Currently our collections (history of science, technology, and entrepreneurship) are located in 11 different areas of our building. Almost any design will require us to move staff, eliminate income generating areas, factor in square footage for the environmental control equipment, and spend quite a lot of money on moving and storing the collections as we work on the new space. Understanding there will always be some challenges, we aspire to create an innovative, new space to increase physical access to our collections.
Thank you for any inspirational input!