Planning sketch of the Little Free Museum concept.
Soon, Madison residents and visitors will be able to go to a library, an art gallery and a museum of science and technology, all within one city block. And there will be no problem with downtown parking. The 1900 block of East Mifflin between First and Second streets is about to become one of the most cultured in Madison, albeit on a miniature scale.
A Little Free Museum, the first of its kind, is set to debut on the block July 11. After a neighbor erected a Little Gallery in addition to the block’s Little Free Library, coming up with the museum was an “obvious next step” says Matt Hirsch, who is hosting the museum in his front yard, along with his wife, Marisa Hirsch.
“I think it’s neat to have that sort of inspiration just come upon you,” Matt says, perhaps while someone is just strolling down a sidewalk. The museum will feature a monthly rotation of science and technology exhibits. The first involves nanotechnology and nature, Matt says. He also plans to feature famous women and minority scientists.
Matt has already contacted some UW professors and plans to connect with science teachers at nearby East High School to recruit people to design and build exhibits. “The goal is for me to create as few of the exhibits as possible,” he says.
The couple intend to get the first Little Free Museum running sustainably and then encourage others to start their own in other locations. They raised over $1,500 on Kickstarter to launch the project. The bulk of those funds went to a local metal worker to construct the museum’s frame. The couple also went door-to-door in the neighborhood seeking support.
In addition to the website, littlefreemuseum.org, there’s a Facebook page and Twitter account (@LFMuseum) for the museum.
The wood for the first museum's base, cut and ready for assembly.
The museum’s structure is based on the design of the block’s Little Gallery — basically a glass box on top of a wooden base. But unlike the gallery, the museum will have removable glass sides to allow for greater visitor interaction. This potential for touching and manipulating objects is one of the strategies for making the exhibits accessible to a wide range of ages, Matt explains.
The Hirsches suggest that exhibits be aimed at 10- to 14-year-olds, but they hope to offer material that appeals to both kids and adults.
One of the biggest challenges of designing exhibits for a freestanding unmanned museum, Marisa says, is that the components have to be sturdy, weather-resistant and either tied down or restockable. “We expect, unfortunately, a certain degree of vandalism,” she says.
The pair were inspired to create the science museum after seeing Neil deGrasse Tyson speak at the Nelson Institute’s Earth Day conference. “He talked about how daily exposure to science motivates invention,” says Marisa, who has a degree in library information studies. She said the famous astronomer shared “alarming stats” about how many fewer inventions come out of the United States now compared to the past.
“It’s not just technology, it’s that inquiring nature — trying to ask ‘why’ and discover ‘why,’” adds Matt, who works as a software engineer at Epic. “It’s a main tenet of what I do in my work life — try to answer the question ‘why,’” he says.
Even before it’s open, the Little Free Museum is attracting attention, with a mention in Smithsonian magazine, as well as in a student paper in Perth, Australia. The Hirsches imagine people developing little science museums in other places, maybe even other types of mini-museums as well. “I feel like there’s a lot of people with a lot of weird passions and interests, and if they get inspired, I could see a lot of little stuff in Madison,” Marisa says.
