Biography
“Inspiration is for amateurs. I just get to work.” — Chuck Close
Paul Orselli’s interest in sharing ideas with people and creating interactive devices began when he was a child growing up in Detroit. While earning his B.S. in Anthropology and Zoology from the University of Michigan and his M.A. in Science Education from Wayne State University, Paul realized he could have a job making “cool stuff” by working in the museum business.
For more than 25 years, Paul has worked to create inventive science museums and playful children’s museums, including director-level positions at the Discovery Museums in Acton, Massachusetts, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, and the Long Island Children’s Museum.
In 2001, Paul became President and Chief Instigator of POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop.)
POW! was created to utilize Paul’s talents and collaborative resources to help museums and other cultural institutions develop innovative exhibit components, exhibitions, and educational programs.
Paul has consulted on museum projects throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. His clients include such notable organizations as the New York Hall of Science, the Exploratorium, the National Science Foundation, and Science Projects in London.
Paul has also been the editor and originator of the three best-selling Cheapbooks, published by ASTC, and has served on the board of NAME (National Association for Museum Exhibition).
Paul has taken a special interest in the notion of “prototyping” as an essential part of the exhibit development process. In addition to presenting workshops on prototyping at recent AAM, ASTC, and ACM conferences, Paul was chosen to write an article about the prototyping process for the National Association for Museum Exhibition’s 25th Anniversary edition of their professional journal, The Exhibitionist.
Tags: qm2-convergence, POW!, Paul Orselli, Paul Orselli Workshop, kids museums, museum exhibits, Cheapbooks, fun science exhibits, exhibit design, interactive exhibits,