This project explores how a museum transforms both physically and theoretically by applying an educational mission onto a hypothetical museum: Second Nature Prairie Community Museum. I used the educational approach called place- and community-based education as the basis of the museum’s mission which directed the design and became the scaffolding for the museum plan. By adaptively reusing an abandoned big box structure, I designed the interior space of the museum employing a preliminary interior design process to schematically arrive at spaces that maximized learning opportunities. Collections, exhibits, and programs were developed including the reclamation of a natural ecosystem: tallgrass prairie, the largest exhibit and teaching tool. The project is process oriented and the face of the traditional museum changed as I explored aspects of museum planning that resulted in theoretical museum design concepts and positioned Second Nature as a future direction for museums.
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