So, I'm feeling a little validated and proud, because an idea (one of many) that I pitched here at my job has finally been accepted and it has come to fruition. The non-profit/museum industry is difficult to get ahead in, so I'm happy. At a recent meeting, some of us (namely me since I'm the primary one here on Saturdays and Sundays)- was trying to find a way to make our museum rules visible without appearing hands off and intimidating. We get a lot of families, school groups, and children who visit us. Family units are of particular concern, because they f'ng run rough-shod all over the museum, tearing things up and making a huge mess. I suggested we design a friendly sign that tells people that while we're a hands on museum, you still have to respect our facility and the exhibit items on display. At first, one of the museum developers scoffed at the idea saying that if we start telling people what they can't do, that they wouldn't come back... which is complete bullshit, because EVERY facility... even the post office, has rules. During free weeks (during winter and spring vacations, we offer free admission to all students), we tend to get large groups of people who visit us. This past winter, we got some pieces of work in here! Families who were just loud, brutish, running all over the place, sliding down the fucking banisters, throwing exhibit items at each other. You can't sit here and tell me that this kind of museum behaviour is exceptable. In any event, this week is a free week. A few weeks prior to this week, The Head of Interpretation asked me to design a fun, friendly set of rules that they could transpose into a visible sign. I jumped at the chance to FINALLY make some use of my creative juices. Needless to say, I came up with a rough draft, presented it at the next meeting, and they loved it. It's fun, it's tongue in cheek, and it makes people aware that we expect them to respect our museum. Not intimidating at all. So now my baby is a sign, and it looks lovely. I'm so excited, as is everyone else. One of the museum developers used scanned my stick figure drawings onto the computer, and drew over them using some program. She took the results to the printers and picked up the sign today! It's awesome. They even joked about making my little stickman a museum mascot. I know this doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it is to me. My usual job is quite mundane, so getting this little creative project off the ground may just be the start of other cooler projects to come. I am young, creative, and hungry. I'm ready to sink my teeth into some really great projects.