Archivist Julie Yamashita shows off her Museum in a Box, inspired by the Lanterman House collections.
Julie working on her shoebox museum.
Museums come in all types and sizes. There are large museums, tiny museums, museums that collect everything and museums that collect only one type of thing. But museums all aim to do the same thing: to use their collections and exhibits to educate, inform, and entertain.
We’d like YOU to make your own museum to share with everyone and fit it in a shoebox.
You can research, design, and create your shoebox museum about ANY topic of your choice. When you’ve completed it, just submit photos of it to our online gallery by May 16.
You might even win an award. Flintridge Bookstore and Once Upon A Time Bookstore are partnering with us and will offer prizes. The Grand Prize winner will receive a $100 gift card and the first-place winners of each category will receive a $30 gift card. The winning entries will be put on display at the bookstore!
Rules:
Entries must be submitted via email to lantermanhouse@gmail.com by Sunday, May 16 at 11:59pm to qualify for the contest. Please submit up to 5 photographs of your museum, including one with you posed with it. You can even submit a short video (less than 2 minutes) giving a “tour” of your museum.
A shoebox or other box should be used to install your exhibit. There are no size limitations on the box, choose what best fits your vision.
By submitting an entry, you agree to have your photograph and name (and age if under 13) publicized in print and online.
Entries must be family friendly and age appropriate. Use common sense to make these determinations.
Entries will be judged on creativity, originality, and execution.
Prizes will be awarded in three categories: Adult (age 13 and up); Youth (age 12 and below) and Family/Group.
Guidelines:
Choose the focus of your museum. It may be a collection of things that you already own, such as Beanie Babies or Legos. It may be a topic that you are interested in, like outer space or kangaroos.
Research your topic and choose your artifacts. You can use things from your household, cut pictures from magazines or print out illustrations from the computer. It’s up to you!
Install the artifacts in your shoebox display. Think of interesting ways to display your artifacts. Small objects may need to be raised up. You can add light to the museum by cutting a hole and placing a flashlight behind it.
Don’t forget to title your museum and write captions that help tell the story of your exhibit!
Resources:
There are many great guides out there for making your own museum. We like the website https://micro.ooo/diy, which has a free downloadable worksheet to guide you through these steps.
Here is another guide from the Museums of Worcestershire in England: https://www.museumsworcestershire.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/How-to-make-a-shoebox-collection.pdf
And one more suggestion: https://blackcreek.ca/create-your-own-exhibit/