Hard Rocks, Rough Lives is an immersive outdoor exhibit that lets visitors experience elements from hard rock mining.
The museum installed real mining equipment, including a rare steam 2 stamp mill and ore carts. The sluice to the left is an interactive model with running water where visitors can try their hand at panning for gold.
A down scaled jig back tram was installed on the back lot. Visitors can turn a crank to see how the tram works.
Ore cart Donor plaques were designed to enhance the outdoor exhibit space and create unique donor recognition.
Visitors could pan for gold at the Sluice, placed in the outdoor exhibit: Hard Rocks, Rough Lives
Immersing visitors in the Mining Portal, a fully interactive replica of a mine addit, has a dynamite plunger that activates a blast pattern and explosion audio.
Smaller artifacts from the collection are displayed in lit built in cases inside the portal.
The mining helmet is displayed with a letter from the wife of a the miner. Her letter tells her story about a tragic mining explosion and how the helmet saved her husband's life.
Historic miners tools used in local mines.
After experiencing the outdoor mining exhibit, visitors could come inside to learn more about the processes after the ore leaves the mine.
Challenged with a unique exhibit for geological examples, I designed a structure where the artifact could be seen from all sides.
Labeling had to be as unique as the display.
The three panel exhibit displays many ore samples, including a collection of high grade gold in in natural form and a 20 pound Mangano Calcite. I designed a black light box for the Mangano Calcite so visiors could enjoy its phoserous colors by pressing a button that activates the black light. The Calcite's unique history tells the story of a local miner who hauled the specimin up three levels on his shoulder to take home to his wife.
Gold dispalyed in four different processes.
How to display a mine bike? On its tracks of course.
Sight and Sound ,2012. The exhibit displayed 100 years of art and music from the musuem's permanent collection and was supplemented by loaded artifacts from the community. A portion of the exhibit changed monthly to spotlight a local artist for the duration of the installation.
Artifacts included an original song written about Telluride taht was played in the Colorado Symphony, rare Telluride Blugrass music festival posters and photos, the histoy of Telluride's volunteer radio station, and GEM roller organ we had restored for the exhibit.
The Telluride Historical Museum has a large collection of portraits, many of them unique to the era due to the wealth of the populating during Telluride's mining heyday.
Visitors could crank a fully restored GEM Roller Organ in the SIght and Sound Exhibit.
Dedicated to interpreting the span of Telluride's history, exhibits also focused around native peoples.
Visitors could play a native drum, flute, and scraping stick that makes a rasping sound similar to a growling bear.
Amphitheather donor plaques disgned to enhance the outdoor amphitheater and give unique options for donor recognition.
