Smart Business Magazine, October 2015
EXPERIENCE October 2015 Smart Business Akron Canton 25 UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY building was actually a gift from Roadway Express and the center relocated there in August 2010 The next step to creating the museum that is now taking shape was funding Dr Nicholas Cummings is a famous professional psychologist and along with his wife Dorothy the couple has contributed 5 million to the effort Right now all of our operations are on the first floor of the building Baker says Well renovate and move the archival material Librarians will move to the newly renovated second floor that will house the archives the reading room and the library The first floor will be expanded from 1700 square feet of gallery space to a 9000 squarefoot museum Work is progressing and Baker is already looking forward to next summer and the opportunities that await People often dont realize the scope of this and the importance of it and what a benefit it is not only to the University of Akron but to Northeast Ohio Baker says There is a lot of interest in what it means to be human and I think we do a pretty exemplary job of providing material to allow people to consider that question STILL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC The museum remains open to the public as construction continues on the second floor Its open Monday through Friday from 10 a m to 4 p m and Saturdays from noon to 4 p m Admission is free MUST SEE EXHIBITS The most popular artifacts to see at the center are the simulated shock generator that Stanley Milgram used in his study of obedience and conformity as well as the materials relating to the Stanford prison experiment In the experiment Philip Zimbardo took Stanford undergraduates and made them guards and prisoners in a mock prison Its one of the most important social science experiments ever and still after 60 years hotly debated Baker says THE SMITHSONIAN EFFECT The center became a member of the Smithsonian Affiliations program in 2002 Baker says the relationship is a powerful one for any museum to have Those of us who take care of aspects of the historical record of the nation its intellectual and cultural materials were able to benefit from the expertise of the Smithsonian Baker says Theres a national conference every June where we can go and interact with Smithsonian staff Their staff is available to us for consultation on the development of exhibits We can borrow objects from the Smithsonian It provides networking for us resources education and training Another relationship that will help the museum is Dennis and Kathy Barrie of Barrie Projects They designed the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum the Spy Museum and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage among others Theyve also been tapped to design the centers museum Im thrilled beyond belief that they have agreed to design our museum for us Baker says UNIQUELY AKRON CANTON
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