Task :

Your group is going to submit a design proposal for the Smithsonian's Cold War Museum. Assume that you have ANY AND ALL items at your disposal to include in the museum. INCLUDE anything you desire, that is relevant to your exhibition on the Cold War. For example, you may choose to include Neil Armstrong's space suit or even a full sized U2 Spy Plane.

Creativity and well conducted research are the essentials to a successful proposal, BE CREATIVE, USE YOUR IMAGINATION!!!

The proposal to be presented to the Smithsonian Board of Trustees should contain 3 elements:

1. A written overview:

1-2 pages in length. The overview should explain why you choose to implement a particular design. It should also provide an overview of the main topics or "wings" that the museum will be constructed around, these should focus on which of the three approaches your group decided upon. It should explain the purpose of the museum and how that purpose is reflected in the design approach that your design team decided upon. The overview should also make mention of the specific items (artifacts) to be presented and the reasoning behind their selection.

2. Museum Floor Plan:

A Map (physical floor plan): An overview, to scale. Designed on graph paper, in a CAD program or by using the drawing tools in Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator or other program. Other options include: 3D models (diorama), virtual space (web page). Use basic shapes to denote exhibits (it is not required that you draw images). The map should use letters or numbers to identify items within the exhibit and corresponding to the descriptions on the included key.

A Key: Identifying the specific items on display and relevant information needed for the average person to appreciate the exhibit. (NOTE: Explanations of particular items should not be more than 1-2 sentences in length) For example: Item 1.a. Neil Armstrong's space suit- The space race closed with American Neil Armstrong being the first man on the moon. His famous words "One small step for man, one giant leap for man kind" ended the race to the moon.) A detailed floor plan of the proposed museum should be included. It should detail what exhibits are to be presented and where. The "wings" of the museum should be organized according to the organizational model (approach) that your group selects.

3. Presentation to the Board of Trustees:

Each proposal will be orally presented to the Smithsonian's Board of Trustees for their consideration. (The rest of the class will act as the board.) The presentations must: Be at least 10-15 minutes in length Include visual elements (overview of floor plan, photos, etc..)

Group Roles :

Each member of the design team is to be assigned a specific role. There are unique responsibilities associated with each of these roles and group members should become familiar with thier individual expectations.

• HISTORIAN
• PUBLICIST
• ARCHITECT
• CURATOR

The Approaches:

You and your design team should view the three possible approaches to the cold war. Each approach provides an outline of information and organization that should be used in the design of the museum. For example, if your design team decided to use the thematic approach, the areas of your museum design should be organized by Cold War theme. You should provide specific reasoning behind the group's selection of that specific approach to the Cold War (both in the museum overview and in the presentation to the board of directors. The approaches are:

• THEMATIC
• CHRONOLOGY
• GEOGRAPHIC

Conclusion :

The assignment will conclude with the presentation of the finished designed before the board of trustees. (The class will act as the board.) The trustees will cast votes for the design approach they believe best reflects the theme of the museum. (NOTE: Board members may not cast a vote for thier own proposal!!)

The final grade for the assignment will be determined by a scoring rubric. The rubric can be viewed here.

©1999-2000 Joshua DeLorenzo, Thomas C. Caswell and Christian King