Progress Report

EXHIBIT DESIGNER SELECTED

Relevant, informative, ever changing and fun are the watchwords for success with today’s museums. No longer is a rare artifact or a world class collection enough for the public to beat a path to their door. To capture people’s fancy, museums must now compete with the ‘emersion’ experiences of theme parks or the action, realism and animation of computer games.

With that in mind, the ITM Board made the selection of their exhibit designers a very high priority. Invitations to submit proposals went to over 20 firms nationwide. The four finalists met with museum representatives before a final decision was made. In the end two partnered firms, Design Craftsmen of Midland, Michigan and Vincent Ciulla Design of Sarasota, Florida got the nod.

The two firms have partnered in the past, with Ciulla taking primary responsibility for the initial design and creative interpretation, while Design Craftsmen emphasizes concept completion and display fabrication. They have a long list of satisfied clients including the National Park Service, State Historical Society of Iowa, and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. Their transportation-related projects include the Walter P. Chrysler Museum, All Aboard That Train, the DOT Transportation Walk in Washington, DC and the U-505 Experience at Chicago’s Museum of Science & Industry. Other Midwestern projects include The Churchill Library in Fulton, MO, the SPAM Museum in Austin, MN and the Western Historic Trails near Council Bluffs.