AGAD 226

Museum Visit Assignment

Natalie Shykoluk
November 15, 2012

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The Muttart An Oasis in a Northern Metropolis

1. The Muttart Conservatory is nestled in Edmontons beautiful river valley and has been in operation since 1976. A generous donation from the Muttart Foundation covered half of the construction costs, with provincial and municipal governments funding the remainder. This public, not-for-profit museum/botanic garden was created as a resource for all Edmontonians to enjoy year-round, regardless of their age, culture, socioeconomic status, or level of education. The admission cost is quite reasonable and people who qualify for the Leisure Access pass (low income) can visit free of charge. When you enter the Muttart, the first things you see are the gift shop to your right and the Culina Caf on your left. Straight ahead is the information desk where you pay for your admission and hallway to the courtyard, or Centre Court. Centre Court contains tables and chairs, plants for sale, and a rotating art exhibit featuring a local artist. Additionally, there is a permanent exhibit in the form of a mural by aboriginal artist Alex Janvier that surrounds you like an undulating ribbon on the walls of the courtyard. This courtyard connects the four large glass pyramids positioned at the edges of the courtyard like four corners on a square. There are three permanent exhibits (Tropical, Arid, and Temperate) and one which changes based on the season or a specific theme (Feature). It is not a typical museum in the traditional sense. Rather, everything is brimming with life and not locked away behind a glass case or rope. Its collection is not static: plants grow and change over time and you might not see the same thing on two different visits. All the plants appear healthy and well-taken care of. The botanic collection, mural, and rotating art exhibits all create the opportunity for dialogue and contemplation. 2. Because Edmonton is considered a cold climate city, the Muttart Conservatory provides a place of escape during the long, cold winter months. Its also a great destination on a rainy summer day, or in on Thursday evenings for a relaxing and romantic date night. People who dont get to travel outside Edmonton can experience natural plant diversity from locales around the globe. The Muttart is also an attractive destination because of its wide range of programming for seniors, children, and families. There are also free weekend tours from staff and it is a centrally located venue which can be accessed from all parts of the City of Edmonton. Both my colleague (who visited the Muttart with me) and I agree that one of the main attractions is the Culina Caf. I think by incorporating a good-quality restaurant into its building, the Muttart seized a great opportunity to provide a place for weekend brunch in an area of town that is starved for brunch locations. People may also visit the Muttart because the conservatory itself appeals to everyone. It does not try to cater to one demographic and I think this is an excellent selling point. 3. I really enjoyed being able to have a relaxing brunch on a Sunday morning and then take a stroll around the indoor botanic gardens afterwards. For a few hours I could pretend I was not living in Edmonton at the beginning of six months of winter. There were lots of places to sit and rest or just contemplate your surroundings. It seemed like a family-friendly place but could also appeal to adults without children and seniors. I did like the fact that the Temperate Pyramid is attuned to the four seasons. The Muttart doesnt force a year-round growing season on local plants. It makes it more natural and real for visitors, especially those who are new to Canada and the Prairies. Another great feature is how the Muttart incorporated Alberta coal into the Tropical Pyramid. It makes the connection between where coal comes from and ancient tropical rainforests that stretched across North America. The scientific names for plants are given on the signage in front of each plant in case you wanted to know what they were. However, the common names are also given so that people dont feel like they need to understand Latin to learn about plants. They can also then make

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the connection between plants at the Muttart and their houseplants or plants in their own gardens. I did appreciate the great magnets available that show the major events happening at the Muttart for the entire year. It also has the planned exhibits for the Feature Pyramid. You cant possibly see everything in one visit. This encourages you to come back, along with the fact that the plant growth changes over time. 4. The biggest disappointment was the Feature Pyramid which I have discussed throughout this paper. It would be cool to have the Feature Pyramid used for hands-on activities, although it might be challenging due to limited staffing resources and funding. The majority of the building was wheelchair-accessible (including the very accessible washrooms), but ramps up to each pyramid are quite steep. It might also be hard to navigate the cobblestones in Tropical Pyramid using crutches or a walker. The fact that there was no free wireless Internet (for downloading the electronic self-guided tours through QR codes) was quite annoying. This is something that the Muttart must change so that they dont alienate the younger generation who are on their wireless devices constantly. 5. The Muttart differed from other museums I have visited because everything was so alive. I am used to walking around and looking at static exhibits of inanimate objects or remains if deceased individuals. This was a nice change and I will make sure to visit other non-traditional museums, such as the Devonian Gardens and other botanical gardens in other cities in the future. I also really enjoyed the fact that I could get a good meal on-site and not just a coffee and something out of a vending machine. People, especially families and tourists, often want to make a day out visiting an attraction. Putting a restaurant in a museum or conservatory is a great to attract more people. 6. I was able to identify three things about the Muttart that I would change if I could. First it bothered me was that it was not always clear which sign belonged to which plant. My colleague and I had to double-check the signs against the walking tour brochure and the actual plant. I think this should be clearer, maybe with a small etching of the plant next to the name on the sign. Secondly, the adult programs offered may be costprohibitive for many people. Some were $100.00 per session and there were no senior or student discounts. I also dont know if they offered program fee discounts to low-income individuals. Thirdly, there was no student discount available. This is similar to other City-run facilities and I think this needs to change. Students are generally poor! Give us a break now and we will likely patronize your facilities when we start earning a regular income.

Cultural Diversity at the Conservatory

7. A botanical garden or conservatory, just like a zoo or planetarium, are places that people can enjoy, regardless of their cultural background. You can still have a great experience and come away with feeling like you learned something even if you dont speak the language used in that institution/organization. In essence, plants and nature transcend language and culture. Unlike traditional museums and galleries, you dont have to bring background knowledge or understanding of another culture into your visit at a conservatory. Often, in order to understand a particular genre of art, or really get a sense of a museum exhibit, a visitor benefits from prior knowledge or experience. For example, a Civil War exhibit may not mean the same thing to someone from Qatar as it does to someone from Missouri. However, in reading the Museums and Cultural Diversity from the Standard Practices Handbook for Museums (2nd ed.), I think that the Muttart Conservatory could be doing more to reflect the cultural diversity present in Edmonton. This may make this venue more relevant to and attract a wider audience. The best area of the Muttart to do this in could be the Feature Pyramid, where cultural diversity should be incorporated into this

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rotating exhibit. For example, the Feature Pyramid showcased the Cornucopia of Colour when I visited and this display was supposed to reflect the harvest, fall, and Thanksgiving. It looked more like a Disney rendition of what Thanksgiving would look like on a sitcom. I think that the Muttart could have really drawn from First Nations and other cultures in Edmonton to make this exhibit more representative of the citys cultural mix. Also, I didnt see a lot of programming at the Muttart that took into consideration cultural diversity. I realize a museum must be true to its mandate, but I believe that they could carry out their mission while perhaps having programs that show how First Nations peoples used resources from the temperate climate, or how cultures living in arid climates survived by taking advantage of certain botanicals. The gift shop is another consideration when it comes to assessing how a museum values cultures in its community. I was disappointed to see the usual cheap jewelry which was supposed to represent First Nations art and symbolism. This is the same jewelry you see in the small stores along Banff Avenue and is made in China. I dont think that cultural diversity should just be addressed in the exhibition areas; rather, it should permeate the entire building. I was appreciative of the mural by Alex Janvier. I thought this was a great addition to the Centre Court area and gave visitors a sense of the different cultures which make up the past and current landscape in Edmonton, especially First Nations culture. The other interesting display was at the entrance to one of the pyramids. It featured a series of terracotta tiles that had been hand painted by various community groups and individuals, from children to adults. They all used similar imageryEgyptian symbolsbut had messages in all different languages. I thought this was a neat way of engaging the community and showcasing its diversity.

My Expectations Going In
8. I had not considered the Muttart Conservatory, or any botanical garden for that matter, to be a type of museum. Prior to taking AGAD 226, I didnt make the connection between traditional museums and galleries and zoos, conservatories, etcetera, even though I knew the latter three had collections. Also, I wasnt sure what to expect after my last visit a number of years ago before they did renovations. Although they didnt make a lot of changes, the overall space seemed more open and inviting. This could also be because I ate a great meal and then slowly strolled through the pyramids. I didnt know how my experience would change during this visit as I had a specific purpose: gather information for an assignment and think critically about what I was experiencing.

Visitors Bill of Rights How Does the Muttart Measure Up?

9. When scoring the Muttart Conservatory, I considered all aspects of the space. This included the Culina Caf, the botanic gardens themselves, parking, outdoor space/accessibility, and washrooms. Overall, the Muttart scored 40 / 50 on the Visitor Bill of Rights. I was not able to score the Challenge / Confidence aspect (see notes in table), which is why my score is out of 50 and not 55.

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Right

Rationale I scored this Right a 3 because on the morning we visited, there had been freezing rain the night before. The paths leading to the building had not been salted or sanded and were very dangerous. A senior citizen almost fell stepping onto the sidewalk in front of me. Inside the conservatory, the temperature was comfortable, the walkways easy to navigate, and the lightning appropriate. There was a place to leave our winter coats and the washrooms were clean. Culina Caf was so loud (acoustics?) that we could barely hear one another across the table while we ate breakfast. It was nice to not hear cellphones squawking awaythis may have been a coincidence that day. We paid for our admission from the front desk but were not given a brochure or any additional information on the current exhibits, programming, or events. We had to ask for informational material from the clerk. The clerk didnt even give us the special handout about their famous agave plant that was about to bloom. If we werent on a special visit as part of an assignment, I doubt we would have asked for all their informational material. The front desk clerk was pleasant but did not seem to be enjoying her job very much. She was somewhat disparaging towards the City of Edmonton, her employer. The second information desk opened an hour later and that clerk was very friendly. The Culina Caf staff were not very friendly and our waiter was rude and short with us. It set a bit of a negative tone for the subsequent museum visit. I enjoyed exploring the four pyramids and thought the Tropical Pyramid was the most outstanding. The Arid Pyramid was a close second and we were excited to see the Agave americana Beila in bloom. However, the plants blooming was delayed but we were impressed with the plants incredible growth. The Feature Pyramid was a huge disappointmentit was full of the same species of flower and tacky scarecrows and gourds. Also, you could see where the plants were stuck in the ground because no one bothered to cover up the holes. Because my overall impression was positive (mainly because of the tranquility and beautifully tended botanicals), I gave it a 4. We didnt see any visitors or diners who came alone. Most of the people were with their families, and there were many young families with grandparents in tow. The Muttart seems like a place were you could talk about everything you are seeing and experiencing with your fellow visitors, even if you didnt know them or come with them. There are programs that promote socialization, such as the Fall Canning workshop, but we didnt experience any of these.

Score (1 5)

Comfort

Orientation

Welcome

Enjoyment

Socializing

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Respect

Everyone we dealt with, save our cranky waiter, was pleasant and respectful. It was great to see a variety of people from different backgrounds enjoying the same thing. There was no way you could feel out of place or disrespected by the actual environment. Each plant was labeled neatly and its origin clearly communicated. The font could have been larger but that may have detracted from the overall atmosphere. One neat feature they had inside the entrance of each pyramid was a QR code. You could scan the code and download a digital tour of each pyramid. The frustrating part was that you had to turn on your cellphones data to be able to scan the code. There was no free WiFi (odd for a City-run facility) and we didnt use the QR codes because we didnt want to use up our data. There was a brochure (only 2 available though!) at the entrance to each pyramid that provided a walking tour of sorts and noted cool facts about different plants. It was written for a grade six-level so it was easy to understand. It would have been nice to have a staff member wandering the pyramids and engaging visitors. I think you have to ask specifically for a guided tour from staff. I learned a lot from the informational material I asked for at the front desk. Because there are four distinct pyramids or galleries at the Muttart all opening onto a common courtyard, you can choose which one to go into, or to avoid. I think its a great design and allows you to run to the bathroom if you need to, or have a seat in the courtyard. The pyramids themselves are all very different and offer a wide variety of plants to look at once you are inside. We were lucky in that all four pyramids were open that day even though they are going through rotating maintenance shutdowns. I am not clear on what this means. I tried to look up the original article from Judy Rand so that I could understand this Right but I could not find it online. After visiting the Muttart, I felt energized and content. The smells of the plants and quiet atmosphere were relaxing, yet invigorating at the same time. It was a different kind of museum because its collection was alive rather than static. This might be the reason I felt great for the rest of the day after my visit. Also, the light was very beautiful on a sunny Sunday morning and you couldnt tell from inside that the ground outside was a winter wonderland. It was a good form of escapism. I guess this is why the Muttart promotes itself as an escape to potential visitors and their brochure looks like a destination vacation pamphlet.

Communication

Learning

Choice & Control

Challenge - Confidence

N/A

Revitalization

40/50

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Visitor Experience
10. This was my second visit in eight years to the Muttart Conservatory. There have been some major changes in that time and I think the institution has moved away from object accountability to being accountable to the visitor in a variety of ways. The Muttart felt much more visitor-oriented during my most recent visit and I was able to really enjoy myself this time. At no time did I feel like a stranger or intimidated by what I was experiencing. I think having the Culina Caf inside the building creates the opportunity for people to have a nice meal and visit the Conservatory afterwards or beforehand. Because there are no restaurants or coffee shops nearby, people (especially families) might feel at a loss when it comes to lunchtime and their kids are starving. It encourages people to stay longer and creates a more relaxed atmosphere. You can also grab a coffee to go and sit in the courtyard while taking in the mural that weaves around this inner sanctum. With respect to programming, it appears from looking at their program brochure that staff have really tried to think of engaging and interesting activities which are appealing to a wide range of audiences. They have programming specific to children and families, but also offer workshops on horticulture and canning which might appeal to an older crowd. I think the Muttart may have received visitor feedback and is trying to cater to peoples interests and needs. On the collection side, I noticed that the Muttart tries to make the pyramids both physically and intellectually accessible. The majority of paths are easy to navigate if you have a disability and there are brochures that are written for a level of understanding that most visitors possess. The Muttart has also incorporated the use of QR codes to engage younger generations who can use their cellphones to obtain a guided tour. They didnt, however, plan well for this activity because they do not offer free WiFi.