January 27, 2026, Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum
The exhibits staff at Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum opened a new temporary exhibit today. In the crunch to turn what had begun as physics laboratory demonstration apparatuses into engaging, safe, interactive exhibits for our museum visitors, we neglected to name the collection, so I will call it Temporary Exhibition for now.
The interactive components of the Temporary Exhibition were originally designed by Professor Carl Akerlof (see more about Akerlof) to use in his lectures and labs with his physics students at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. With his retirement from teaching and advising, Akerlof, one of the founders of the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum in the late 1970s, arranged with the university to allow our museum to repurpose its exhibits to reach a new audience.
The bases are fabricated from fractional 1.5-inch smooth-lite, clear anodized 80/20® extruded T-slot bars and 0.75-inch-thick blue King ColorBoard® HDPE. Each base is topped with a maple butcher block plate, which was part of the original apparatus. The bases are sturdy and are heavy enough to prevent creep, while light enough for staff to move.
The labels, displayed on the gallery’s portrait-oriented 54-inch monitors, provide instructions for interactive experiences under the heading, Try This!, followed by a brief explanation of the science behind the experience under the heading, What’s Happening? When the exhibits become part of the museum’s regular gallery displays, the labels will be revised based on visitor comments and staff observation, reformatted, printed and mounted on each exhibit station.
Note January 29, 2026: I’ve updated the labels four times since the opening for readability, visitor understanding of the instructions and concept visuals.