Yesterday I took a vacation day so that I could work on some projects for school. Specifically, a take home exam and a New Product Development project. The exam was… well? an exam. Nothing too noteworthy there.

But the New Product Development work was a blast! Our group is working on a project with the Hartford Wadsworth Atheneum. The Atheneum is an art museum in Hartford that is known for its impressive Baroque collection. Myself and three project-mates met with a woman who is deeply involved in the museum’s education connection. We learned so many amazing things about museum operation.

Take, for example, the checklist of criteria that must be met in order for a museum to loan out works of art. It’s about a half inch thick stack of rules. It covers everything from “is the location in a flood zone” to the material of the walls (brick, drywall, etc…).

We learned a bit about the categorization of art pieces, how exhibits are formed, and that the museum owns more than 50,000 works.

After the meeting, two of us took a stroll around the museum. I need to make more time for culture like that, it’s such a treat.