Our Summer Vacation

Now that we are well into fall (especially given our frosty weather of late), we can tell you about our summer vacation.  Well, actually it wasn't much of a vacation--we've been very busy!  But we did manage to have some fun—we even took a roadtrip, and what a great one it was!

We had many highlights this summer, including celebrating our company’s 10 year anniversary.  One way in which we were able to celebrate this successful hallmark was with yet another: The Smithsonian Affiliates, the organization of esteemed museums associated with the Smithsonian museum, invited us to present at their 2012 National Conference in Washington, D.C.  We are so honored and excited by this—it is so rewarding to even be acknowledged by this group.  It was the best anniversary present a company in the Museum business could get!

Needless to say, Museum Explorer jumped at the chance to present our museum carts.  We turned this invitation into a classic summer road trip from Chicago to the National Mall (which those of our fans + friends will recall, we chronicled on Facebook).  And with the help of some of our summer interns (teens from our own families), we were able to make this trip possible.  The museum carts were constructed, loaded into the van, and off we went on something of a classic (albeit extended) sales call—only this door ended up being in the nation’s capital!

Our presentation was well-received, and it felt great.  While we are fortunate enough to have many of our carts out there in the museum world (including MSI, etc), our biggest accomplishment over our ‘summer vacation’ was introducing the Smithsonian American Art Museum to Museum Explorer’s carts!  The SAAM had us create 5 carts for them.  We sent them off just a few weeks ago.  Below you can see a picture of the finished product actually in the museum itself! One of the most flattering and satisfying moments of the entire summer was when we received the artwork that will be placed on the side and banners for all 5 Smithsonian American Art Museum carts. The carts will be labeled 'Art a la Cart.’  We couldn't be more thrilled to have our carts carry this message to the Smithsonian visitors from around the world that will enjoy the gallery programs staged on our carts.

Another amazing thing that happened because of this trip was a second Smithsonian project, this time for the National Museum of African American History & Culture. We are at the very start of helping the NMAAHC to develop a cart that will feature three Apple iPad stations. We're very excited to say the least about engaging our second Smithsonian client in only a few months.

This rewarding event—an accolade, truly—was specifically titled ‘Collaboration Blitz.’  This, in the Affiliates’ own words, was intended to provide an arena for “Vendors, Affiliates and Smithsonian staff [to] present partnership opportunities…ideas and resources in hopes of making unexpected connections with potential collaborators.”  Luckily for Museum Explorer, this is exactly what happened to us.  It was a successful summer indeed!