The whole museum staff has been down at Pier 15 for one week now and it’s been a lot of fun starting to set up the learning studio at our new location. The tinkering gallery space out on the floor is still under construction, but we have a lot of work to do getting our behind-the-scenes development space ready for action.
Right off the bat, we set up the dog-bone table for full-group meetings and informal scrums. Last Tuesday, Nicole shared some of her and Ryoko’s pop-up furniture prototypes with those of us who haven’t been out to TS East recently.
One of the most special things about the old learning studio was the quantity and variety of accessible materials available for us and others to use for projects. We’re not quite there yet, but getting a couple cabinets filled with golf balls, markers, doodads, foamies, and more goes a long way to establishing the character of the room.
Sebastian got the laser cutter up and running…
…so we had an impromptu dance party to celebrate!
A big project has been getting our R&D shop up and running so that we can begin to construct environmental elements, materials for activities, and display nooks for artists’ pieces. Nicole and Ryoko have taken the lead on installing pegboard walls in the shop for both functional and aesthetic purposes. Ryoko worked out a cardboard version of the wall to plan out where to leave holes for outlets and control boxes. Next, she and Nicole started on one side of the room and began covering the wall with pegboard. It should look beautiful and help with tool organization when it’s finished.
The steel work in the tinkering studio has progressed quickly and we can begin to imagine where artist installations, storage closets, and workshop spaces will go in the finished gallery.
On the other side of the gallery, the new marble machines area now has a skeletal framework as well.
While it feels like there’s a lot of work to go until opening, it won’t be long before what now looks like a construction zone will be ready for people to play with exhibits, get involved with activities, and join tinkering workshops. It will be amazing to see the transformation from the bare steel and wood to a thoughtfully designed space that we can share with museum visitors.
