Today was an exciting day! We had a field trip!

Mary and Kieran are excited about our field trip!

We went to Cleveland to meet up with Dennis and Kathy Barrie, the team who are designing the new Cummings Center for the History of Psychology Museum. They have a very impressive resume — between the two of them they have designed the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC,  the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH, the Mob Museum in Las Vegas and they are currently working on the U.S. Olympic Museum in Colorado Springs.  They shared their background and how they became involved in museum design. They also spoke with us about their process for designing museum spaces and shared the early plans for the Cummings’ History of Psych museum. It was incredibly interesting and we learned a lot.

The conversation also highlighted the value of the archival work we are doing — the Barries mentioned how helpful it is for them to have so many artifacts to work with.  Maybe some of the things we find in Schopler’s collection will end up on display!!

The group with Dennis and Kathy Barrie

Afterward, we spent a few hours walking around the Cleveland Museum of Art. Knowing how much effort goes in to designing the space and flow of the exhibits gave us a whole new perspective!

The beautiful atrium in the Cleveland Museum of Art (photo courtesy of the Columbus Dispatch’s website)