More than 100 meetings at almost 50 institutions!

Unfortunately, our records aren't complete.
Please help us fill in missing information:
email Nancy Goodman with additions or corrections to this list.

Shedd Aquarium

Oct 1991

First CMEG meeting 10-3-91: Organizational meeting

Field Museum
Into the Wild: Animal Trails and Tails

Nov 1991

Q&A, Discussion

Shedd Aquarium
Oceanarium opening

Jan 1992

Exhibit Reviews, What are the Criteria?

Adler Planetarium

Feb 1992

Evaluation as an exhibitor’s tool
How are we using it, and what are we finding out?

Kohl Children’s Museum

Mar 1992

Chicago Botanic Garden

May 1992

Museum of Science & Industry

Jun 1992

Asking the Visitor

Chicago Historical Society

Jul 1992

Team Process

Highland Park Historical Society

Aug 1992

Home & grounds tour

Field Museum

Sep 1992

When good exhibits go bad: Maintaining content integrity over time

SciTech
Chemistry demonstration

Oct 1992

Involving the visitor in the museum experience: Exhibit prototypes; science demonstrations as exhibit events

Harold Washington Library

Jan 1993

Developing a new museum for a multicultural market: What experiences will access learning for the Millennium generation?

Chicago Botanic Garden
Tropical Rainforests: A Disappearing Treasure

Feb 1993

Traveling exhibits: Exhibit sources, enhancing exhibits for use by teachers

Evanston Historical Society

Mar 1993

Chicago Academy of Sciences
Energy: Choosing our Future

Apr 1993

Evaluation and the exhibit development process: Discussion, try your hand at exhibit evaluation

Museum of Science & Industry

May 1993

MSI’s New Theme Song!
Era of Thematic Zones—opening of Communications Exhibit

Henry B. Clarke House Museum

Aug 1993

How do we get there? An exercise in signage: Outdoor and directional signage

Field Museum

Sep 1993

Brookfield Zoo

Nov 1993

The blind leading us: Working with ADA issues; using focus groups to learn from guests with visual impairments

Abrams Teller Madsen

Dec 1993

Holiday party

DuSable Museum

Jan 1994

Tour of exhibits

Field Museum
Messages from the Wilderness

Feb 1994

Messages from Message from the Wilderness: Summary of visitor evaluations

Mexican Fine Arts Museum
El Quinto Sol: Tenochtitlan Tlatelolco Recent Findings

Mar 1994

Q&A re. development of archaeological exhibit 

Adler Planetarium
The Universe in Your Hands: Early Tools of Astronomy

Apr 1994

Exhibit project team: Curators, designers, educators, builders, and evaluators working together; historical astronomical instruments; exhibit prototypes

Chicago Children’s Museum

Jun 1994

Prototyping a new museum: Play with and test prototypes

Chicago Academy of Sciences/ Nature Museum
Our Weakening Web: The Story of Extinction;
Water Works

Aug 1994

Primates in the gallery: Visitor response and museum responsibility: How well exhibit environments meet human needs

Page Top

Field Museum
DNA to Dinosaurs; Teeth, Tusks and Tarpits

Sep 1994

Voices of Doom Radio: Tales of Mesozoic Terror! Cross-departmental pre-opening jitters

Kohl Children’s Museum
People exhibit

Nov 1994

Responding to visitor behavior in interactive exhibits: Expectations and their communication, influence of design on behavior

DuSable Museum
African Zion exhibit

Jan 1995

Installation issues: Lighting, humidity, temperature control

Reza’s Restaurant

Feb 1995

Informal gathering

Swedish American Museum

Mar 1995

Reaching beyond your borders: The challenges of ethnic and specialty museums

Field Museum

May 1995

Passage to Adventure: Informal presentation of photos, slides, videos documenting museums and exhibits from five continents and 9 of 50 states

River Trail Nature Center

Jun 1995

Relating to Nature: Creating meaningful experiences for urban youth

Lake County Discovery Museum

Aug 1995

From the highway to the gallery: Improving the approach to the exhibit; increasing visibility and clarity

Chicago Academy of Sciences/ Nature Museum at North Pier

Nov 1995

Getting the bucks: Practical advice for writing grants

International Museum of Surgical Science

Dec 1995

Holiday party
First CMEG holiday competition: One-minute exhibit idea presentations, ornament contest

Abrams Teller Madsen

Mar 1996

Chicago Architecture Foundation
Ingenious Solutions; Newhouse Competition

Jul 1996

Viewing of exhibits: Walking tour of downtown; dinner

Shedd Aquarium
Frogs!

Sep 1996

The challenges of live animal exhibits: Design, interpretation, animal care, ethics

Field Museum

Nov 1996

Museums in cyberspace: What’s happening on the Internet: Examples and ideas

Field Museum

Dec 1996

Holiday party
CMEG holiday competition: Creative ornaments; unwanted gift exchange

Chicago Children’s Museum
InfoTech Arcade

Feb 1997

Multimedia exhibit challenges: Developing, designing, programming and maintaining a multimedia exhibit

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian

Apr 1997

  Page Top

Oriental Institute

May 1997

Museum of Science and Industry
Idea Factory: An Exhibit for Young Children

Jul 1997

Idea Factory: Developing and maintaining a large water exhibit

Brookfield Zoo
The Swamp

Sep 1997

How Brookfield Zoo is changing its exhibit design process: Driven by interpretive objectives, involving all departments

Chicago Botanic Garden
Frank Lloyd Wright: Drawing Inspiration from Nature

Oct 1997

Collaboration between museums: Expectations, communication, negotiations, goals, roles, work styles, outcomes

Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum
Dia de Muertos: A Living Tradition

Nov 1997

Repeat exhibits: Maintaining viability for staff and visitors

Lincoln Park Zoo
Great Ape House

Dec 1997

What drives exhibit development? Comparison: LPZoo (Great Apes) and Adler (Timeless Space)

Chicago Historical Society
Rooting, Uprooting: The West Side – Neighborhoods: Keepers of Culture series

Jan 1998

Working with communities: Using neighborhood advisory groups to develop exhibits

Kohl Children’s Museum
The Shoes We Use

Apr 1998

Aiming for Durability: Designing and creating durable exhibits

SciTech

May 1998

Museum in a School: 75 traveling exhibits that travel to schools

Art Institute of Chicago
Telling Images: Stories in Art

Jun 1998

Telling images: Stories in art:  Creating an exhibit (interactive devices and gallery environment) using an advisory group of children

Field Museum
Living Colors: A Butterfly Garden

Jul 1998

How to run an outdoor exhibit (by an indoor museum)

Lincoln Park Zoo: Laflin Administration Building

Dec 1998

How well to videos work in exhibits? Exploring audiences, setting, topics, length, monitor placement

Field Museum
Underground Adventure

Jun 1999

Working with vendors near and far: Pros and cons of using vendors for design and production – distance, practices, procedures

IIT Institute of Design

Sep 1999

Museum Campus design presentation: Systems level analysis by IIT ID grad students for integrating and enhancing campus function and visitor experience

Adler Planetarium

Dec 1999

Creating effective introductory galleries: challenges and solutions

Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
Honoring the Morning Star: Lakota Star Quilts from Pine Ridge South Dakota

Mar 2000

Scotch tape and photocopies: Creating exhibits with very limited resources (time, space, personnel, money)

Page Top

Field Museum
Sue–Tyrannosaurus rex

Jun 2000

Excellence or extinction? A duet on the future of museum exhibition: How to survive in the information marketplace – competing venues and vehicles

Brookfield Zoo
Habitat Africa! The Forest

Sep 2000

Animal Exhibits and Human Culture: Incorporating people into zoo, aquarium, natural history exhibits

Newberry Library
To the Ends of the Earth: Exploring the Poles

Dec 2000

Uniting polar opposites: Strategies for integrating unrelated ideas and materials

Lake County Discovery Museum
Bringing the World Home; The Mall of History; Vortex Roller Coaster Theater

Mar 2001

Branding through exhibits: Using exhibits to establish brand awareness for a museum

Peace Museum: Garfield Park Field House

May 2001

The Labor of Culture: A Forum on Museums and Unions

Morton Arboretum
Big Rock Visitor Station

Jun 2001

Go out and play: Getting visitors out of their cars and into nature: Visitor stations for interpretation in large sites

Brookfield Zoo
Hamill Family Play Zoo

Sep 2001

Building a foundation for caring about nature: Providing positive nature experience for kids

Chicago Historical Society
Fashion, Flappers ‘n’ all That Jazz

Nov 2001

Bringing exhibit artifacts to life: Using fictitious scenes to help imagine historical settings
CMEG 10th anniversary celebration: CMEG competition for best proposal for an exhibit that would never be built

DuPage Children’s Museum

Mar 2002

Working together: Exhibit development and program planning

Spertus Museum
A Gateway to Medieval Mediterranean Life: Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue

Jun 2002

What is the role of museums when disaster strikes? Responses after 9/11; challenges, sensitivities, cross-cultural connections

Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio

Sep 2002

Reading between the lines: Three perspectives on the future of exhibit labels

Chicago Children’s Museum
Gingerbread Fantasy Factory

Dec 2002

Creating meaningful interactives: Incorporating learning with play

 Page Top

Lincoln Park Zoo
Farm in the Zoo

Mar 2003

Accessibility and exhibits: Issues and experiences re. accessibility in exhibits and websites

River Trail Nature Center

Jun 2003

Wayfinding: don’t get lost in the woods! Wayfinding materials, design challenges, evaluation

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
Discovering Chimpanzees: The Remarkable World of Jane Goodall

Sep 2003

Balancing mission and traveling exhibits: Fitting the mission with the museum

Fire Museum of Greater Chicago

Dec 2003

New year, new plans: Start-up museum: planning for a permanent space
CMEG holiday competition: artistic interpretation of favorite exhibit or museum

Chicago Children’s Museum
BIG Backyard

Apr 2004

White model workshop: Foam-core model-making session

Morton Arboretum
InTREEguing TreeHouses

Jun 2004

Temporary exhibitions in plant-based settings: Challenges of mounting exhibitions in existing collections

Adler Planetarium
Milky Way Galaxy

Sep 2004

Photography as an interpretive tool: Roles that images play in exhibit development and presentation

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Dec 2004

Building greener exhibits: Wise use of materials, energy, other resources for exhibits

Oriental Institute
Empires in the Fertile Crescent

Mar 2005

Speaking for the object: The Role of Museums, part 1; Object-based museums

SciTech
Outdoor Science Park

Jun 2005

Science in motion…History live! The Role of Museums, part 2; Experience-oriented museums

Shedd Aquarium
Crabs!

Sep 2005

What’s next? The Role of Museums, part 3; Looking toward the future

Museum of Science and Industry
U-505 Experience

Nov 2005

Lighting up museum exhibitions: Lighting design; conservation, interpretation

 Page Top

Terry Dowd, Inc.
Studio tour

Mar 2006

Moving and interpreting large objects in exhibits: Practical aspects and interpretive challenges

McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum

Jun 2006

Putting the visitor on view: Exhibits that require visitor input and feedback

Morton Arboretum
Children’s Garden

Sep 2006

Making museums matter to teenagers: Programs and approaches

Field Museum
Evolving Planet

Dec 2006

Faith, science and the 21st century museum: Evolution and creationism

Shedd Aquarium
Wild Reef

Mar 2007

Assessing excellence in exhibitions: Four approaches

Adler Planetarium
Shoot for the Moon

Oct 2007

Evaluating computer interactives: Usability, maintenance, design

Chicago Cultural Center
HereThereEverywhere: Chicago’s Festival of Maps

Feb 2008

Wayfinding and finding ways: Integrating maps creatively into the exhibit experience

Chicago History Museum
Catholic Chicago

Apr 2008

Multi-lingual communication in today’s exhibits: Insights into the issues, what works, what’s still to be learned

Chicago Children’s Museum
Skyline exhibit

Jun 2008

Do kids really learn anything in children’s exhibits? How research guides exhibit development

Isle a la Cache Museum

Oct 2008

Exhibit design on a dime: Value engineering in museum renovation

Chicago Scenic Studios Inc.
Studio tour

Jan 2009

Working with exhibit fabrication vendors: Productive relationships, fabrication capabilities

Intelligent Lighting Creations
Studio tour

Apr 2009

Lighting basics and new technologies: Exhibit lighting, product samples, demonstrations, maintenance planning

Shedd Aquarium
Oceanarium renovation

Jul 2009

Moving forward despite the downturn: Creative solutions for museum professionals during the recession

Field Museum
Traveling the Pacific, Pacific Spirits

Oct 2009

Looking back – Moving forward: The challenge of creating visitor-centered exhibits; reviewing 20 years of progress

Adlai Stevenson Center on Democracy
Adlai Stevenson exhibit

Dec 2009

An evening of ornaments and inspirations: Sharing what inspires our work in museums

Bridgeport Art Center and Chicago Maritime Museum

Oct 2016

CMEG Past, Present, Future
Celebrating and musing