Hello There!

 Hi y'all! I am Nic Feldman, a 3rd year Museum Studies Major with a Public Policy Immersion, and this is my last year here at RIT!

I'm writing this at the very beginning of my thesis journey, and by very beginning I mean I have just truly settled on my topic and have begun to research and lay out a plan of attack. My topic idea came from my first semester of being a MUSE student, when I assisted in RIT Archives in the curation and installation of Innovative Investments: 30 Years of Tom Golisano at RIT. During that process, I "came up" with an idea I coined "The Magpie Effect," where I reasoned that the inclusion of a shiny/reflective object, in this case a  brass plaque, would serve as a great way to catch peoples eyes as they walk by the exhibit. Unfortunately, the plaque wasn't included, and my theory went untested but the idea stuck with me, and I was able to somewhat develop it further over this past year. Through my continuing work at the RIT Archives and at my summer co-op at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I realized there was a social aspect to The Magpie Effect--- people tend to be more interested in an exhibit where they recognize the names and content within in a much more noticeable way.

I am having my thesis focus on the Magpie Effect, I find it a very intriguing idea, especially as I have a love for exhibits and exhibit design, but I'm not focusing on all the different aspects that I could potentially study, I am just focusing on the social aspect. Specifically, how visitor familiarity with exhibit content draws them in and connects them to the exhibit. 

Currently, I am working on research-- finding sources and figuring out what data has already been collected and how, so that when I go and do a visitor study, I have something to compare to, and something I can use as a reference to better understand my data.

Hopefully, I'll have more for y'all in a couple weeks! For now: my cat.

Pete, an orange cat, lying on a grey couch half asleep.

~~

Nic Feldman