The Mind Museum Opening, Part 3: The Technology of Play

March 21, 2012

Crowds line up for the opening of The Mind Museum.

Welcome to the third and final segment of our tour of The Mind Museum in Taguig, Philippines. The museum’s first four galleries proclaimed the wonders of Nature. Our last indoor gallery heralds the innovations of humankind.

The Story of Technology is the largest of The Mind Museum’s galleries, encompassing the entire upper floor and overlooking the other four gallery spaces. It is divided into five major themes, each occupying a node: How We Live, Who We Are, How We Know, How Things Work, and Here to There. The Who We Are Node explores the tools we use to create, modify or spread human language, as well as other expressions such as art, literature and fashion. How We Are examines precision and ingenuity, featuring tools such as telescopes and microscopes that challenge us to discover the illusive, invisible and immeasurable.

In the How Things Work node, guests explore the mechanics that changed the world. Whether for manufacturing, building public infrastructures, or processing food or oil to sustain millions of lives, the tools in this gallery have altered human society. From the machines that build, to those that transport, visitors learn about mobility and speed in the Here to There node, which features vessels that carry humans and the things we humans like to carry with us. Velocity and motion give way to sustainability and wellbeing in the How We Live node, which spotlights the tools we use to live, work, play or heal and how they impact our health and the health of our planet.

The crown jewel of this gallery is The Human Face of Technology. Comprised of a 360-degree screen featuring uploaded videos of people saying what there favorite technology is and why, this exhibit can be seen by visitors from almost every angle throughout the entire museum. Not only does the Human Face of Technology provide a beautiful centerpiece for this dynamic space, it offers a personal angle to the technology story, one that extends far beyond the tools, gadgets and machines we use everyday.

Our final area juxtaposes this technology story by exposing the guests to the elements of nature. Science-in-the-Park, an outdoor exhibit area, offers a variety of entertaining science experiences entitled “Nature’s Artful Play.” The 800-square-meter park features four play pockets: Water, Math, Music and Living. The Math Pocket offers exhibits such as a fulcrum and a curved climbing wall, which challenge both the mind and senses in a fun and whimsical way. Visitors of all size and ages can play indigenous drums, a large flute, or a singing forest of wind chimes in the Music Pocket. “Wild” is the word in the Living Pocket, with creatures such as cobras, eagles and dragonflies allowing guests to “get into their heads” and plants demonstrating their capacities to filter water. Finally, guests can unleash the power of water by turning an Archimedes screw, spinning a water wheel or chasing bubbles in the Water Pocket.

The Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc. designed The Mind Museum experience to extend far beyond the guest’s actual physical visit. Through virtual exhibits such as “Light the Northern Hemisphere,” “Catch a Comet,” or “Explore Nature’s Basic Ingredients,” visitors continue their learning and are inspired to return to the museum.

“It was an honor and a pleasure to work with The Mind Museum, and it is a thrill to see it open,” said Matthew Wheeler, JRA Senior Project Director. “We greatly enjoyed collaborating with the BAFI team and have always appreciated their passion for this project and science education in general.”

Manny Bias II, Managing Director of The Mind Museum and BAFI, also enjoyed the spirit of teamwork and goodwill exemplified in the project, “The JRA people didn't just do great work for The Mind Museum, they became great friends. After they completed the contracted work, they kept in touch with us to check on our progress, and to just spur us on. When we opened the museum five years later, JRA was there to celebrate with us.”

JRA would like to congratulate everyone at BAFI and The Mind Museum on a successful opening. We’re sure this auspicious beginning is a sign of great things to come.

Tags: Asia , JRA Journeys , Outside the Studio , Project Spotlight

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The Mind Museum Opening, Part 2: Nature's Building Blocks

March 20, 2012

The Mind Museum - Taguig, Philippines

For Part 2 of our celebration of The Mind Museum’s grand opening, we’ll visit two more of the science center’s galleries – one offering a glimpse of Nature’s work in macro terms, the second distilling everything around us into a fraction of a particle.

The Human Brain

The Story of Life features the defining exhibit of The Mind Museum – “The Human Brain.” One of the largest exhibits in the museum, The Human Brain features consoles on memory, the senses and motion and is designed with interactive multi-media illustrating what happens to our brains through various moods (e.g., sadness, joy, and fear). Another Story of Life gallery, “Adaptations,” offers a three-part tutorial on how different animals adapt to their surroundings, such as camouflage and mimicry. Guests can also enjoy an interactive 3D exhibit of the human body, a Bernoulli blower, and a walk-through exhibit documenting the evolution of mammals from sea to land to air.

Big Small Wonders

Given that the topic of life is so vast, there is a vast array of exhibit experiences in The Story of Life. Guests continue their journey by viewing “Big Small Wonders” through a microscope and seeing their finds magnified on a monitor. They deepen their understanding of genes through “Gifts Through the Past: Chromosomes” and compare numbers of species through the free-standing exhibit “Rooms of Life: Sizes and Shapes.” Other exhibits educate visitors on the topics of the human body, evolution and the interconnectedness of life. Through The Story of Life, children and adults alike are reminded that although we are uniquely “us,” we are all part of the global life network.

The Story of The Atom gallery

The Story of The Atom takes the grandness of life and distills it into its smallest building blocks. With more interactive exhibits than any other gallery, it contains the very elemental forces that we so often take for granted – gravity and electromagnetism. The highlight of the gallery is the Atom Centerpiece, which features “Atom in A Box,” a fascinating 3D visualization of an atom developed by a physicist. While serving as the building block of life, the atom is also the building block for the technologies we use everyday – from TVs to computers, cell phones to tablets. In this gallery, guests can witness the chaotic motion of a levitating pendulum, make lights glow different colors by adjusting pressure and gasses, activate a human-powered Tesla coil, and learn that “Everything is Made of Atoms” through a sculptural exhibit featuring a deconstructed chocolate bar. JRA designed this gallery to move these microscopic particles and invisible forces into the context of everyday life, creating a larger story around the infinitesimal atom.

This deconstructed chocolate bar shows how everything is made of atoms.

“With a science exhibition designer, you would need a group that respects the story that you bring to the project,” said Maribel Garcia of Bonifacio Art Foundation Inc. “JRA not only respected our concepts, they helped refine them and build a story around them that was wonderful to behold. It was like seeing your distilled imagination cloaked in shapes and color ready to step into reality!”

Two small guests have a hair-raising experience in The Story of The Atom.

For these last two days, we’ve examined The Mind Museum galleries that focus on the foundations of the past (The Universe, The Earth) and the building blocks of our present (Life, The Atom). Tomorrow, we’ll focus on the future through the museum’s The Story of Technology gallery, before ending our tour outside with “Nature’s Artful Play” in Science-in-the-Park.
 

Tags: Asia , JRA Journeys , Outside the Studio , Project Spotlight

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Just a Thought: A Sincere Thanks...

February 08, 2012

JRA Chief Executive Officer/Owner, Keith James

As we enter our 25th anniversary year, CEO Keith James reflects on his recent IAAPA Outstanding Service Award and offers his sincere thanks to all those who have helped him (and JRA) along the way.

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Those of you who know me personally know that my entire career has been behind the scenes, whether it’s been stage-managing a musical or overseeing the development of a theme park. This is a role I’ve always enjoyed and always preferred.
This past November, however, I stepped from behind the scenes and onto a stage in Orlando to receive IAAPA’s 2011 Outstanding Service Award. And while I have to admit that being the center of attention for those few minutes made me a bit nervous, I have also never felt so appreciative and humbled.

When I started in this crazy industry four decades ago, I had no idea how my work would come to influence every aspect of my life, in ways for which I am, and will always be, grateful. 

I met my lovely bride Patti while we both worked at Kings Island theme park. We’ve been married over 32 years now, and have two adult daughters: Alexis, who was born during my time at Expo ‘86 in Vancouver, and Chloe, who was born during my time at Australia’s Wonderland in Sydney. So you could say that this industry gave me my family, which by far is the most important
thing in the world to me.

My career has also introduced me to people who became lifelong friends.  Their friendship and support over the years has meant the world to me, both personally and professionally. I’ve had the chance to work with some incredibly talented individuals over the years, not the least of which are those with whom I share an office back in Cincinnati. My firm’s success is truly a result of their talent and commitment. One of the best parts about my job is that I get the chance to work with people who I genuinely admire and respect.

Due to the international nature of this business, I’ve had the opportunity to travel the globe and be exposed to an amazing array of cultures, exotic sites and fascinating people. And while my 9 million frequent flyer miles certainly haven’t come easy, the experiences that I’ve gained have been worth every mile.

Finally, I am very thankful for all of the clients who have entrusted JRA over the years with their hopes, dreams and projects. If not for them, I would not have had the career that I have enjoyed so much. It was with sincere appreciation that I accepted IAAPA’s kind award last November. It is something that I will always cherish.

One could say that the award is in recognition for what I’ve given to the industry over these many years. However, I will always look at it as a symbol of the many wonderful things that the industry has given to me.

 

Tags: JRA Team , Outside the Studio

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The JRA Holiday Party: Capturing the Fun of the Fifties

December 20, 2011

It was an evening of cool hepcats and boss threads at Jack Rouse Associates' 1950's-themed holiday staff party.  From poodle skirts to Pan Am, saddle shoes to well, the just unusual, costumed JRA staff members enjoyed music, food and holiday cheer at the home of Chief Executive Officer/Owner, Keith James.  The theme was inspired by James' Happy Days-esque kitchen, complete with neon, a Wurlitzer jukebox and a sofa formed from the back of a '57 Chevy.

"This was a terrific opportunity to bring everyone together, thank them for their work this year, and celebrate the holiday season," said James.  "Not to mention the costumes were outstanding."

See below for some choice pics from the event, and check out our Facebook page for even more photo fun!  Thanks for reading, and be sure to join us Thursday as we raise a glass to Senior Project Manager (and soon to be retiree), Rick Steele.

Executive Assistant, Chloe James and VP of Production, Ron Bunt

Senior Project Designer, John Nagel, and Senior Project Director, Rob Morgan, sporting their actual high school letter jackets!

Senior Project Coordinator, Kelly Ellis, and yes, that is actually Creative Director, Randy Vuksta.

CEO/Owner Keith James gets a holiday peck form his wife, Patti.

Tags: JRA Team , Outside the Studio

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Outside the Studio: For the Love of Oakley

December 13, 2011

Senior Project Designer (and local historian), Scot Ross

First, it was a hobby. A couple of articles here. A photo or two there. But for JRA Senior Project Designer Scot Ross, a simple fact-finding mission has become a labor of love and an exploration into the past of one of Cincinnati’s most charming addresses. For today’s Outside the Studio segment, Scot shares how For the Love of Oakley came to be, how it relates to JRA, and what he hopes it will accomplish for the local community.

“I was trying to find out about the history of our house and kept stumbling onto the history of our neighborhood,” said Ross. “Our community grew around an industrial area that was known as the ‘factory colony.’ Its working class history was not well documented, so I began to aggregate the pieces I'd found and discovered a richly layered and largely forgotten story of what is now one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the city of Cincinnati.

The foundation of our work here at JRA – whether it’s a science museum, a large corporate visitor center or a little, family-owned amusement park – is about telling stories. At the heart of storytelling is where we find our humanity and that's what makes history speak to us. Taking those storytelling lessons out of the studio and applying them to something I’ve grown passionate about seemed like a natural fit.”

Scot’s passion has translated into a several Oakley history displays for the local library, and he has recently begun work on a series of informative and entertaining mini-documentaries, the first of which can be found here.  He’s currently at work on a website that will allow anyone to enjoy the growing archive of text and images.

Ross’ work hearkens back to the works of historian David McCullough, who reminds us, ‘No one ever lived in the past. They lived in their own present.’ “The events may have happened a long time ago,” says Ross, “but the driving forces behind them are still very much the same today – relocating for a job and better life, buying a home where land is cheaper, opening a business to serve a growing community.

The stories are entertaining, but they also foster a deeper appreciation of our neighborhood and the people who built it. Indirectly, I hope that leads to a greater sense of community.”

Thank you, Scot. Tune in Thursday for another ABCs of Design and Project Management segment, where we’ll decipher the mysteries of the elusive (and usually expensive) “E-ticket.”
 

Tags: JRA Team , Outside the Studio

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