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The Undercurrent is a biweekly news feature show written and produced by students from Michigan State University. Each episode explores multiple stories surrounding one central theme.
88.9, the impact. You're listening to undercurrent. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to season 16 episode seven of the undercurrent. The undercurrent is a feature news podcast where I share stories happening around campus and in the East Lansing area. On today's episode, we will be talking with MSU museum director Devin Ackman.
Speaker 1:Devin has helped the MSU museum with with its brand and mission and serves as a core faculty member in MSU's arts, cultural management, and museum studies program. I'm so excited to talk more about the MSU Museum and its recent reopening after undergoing renovations. Thank you so much for coming on today, Devin.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me on the show.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Of course. So do you just wanna start by kind of introducing yourself and say a little more about what you do?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Sure. Well, my name obviously is Devin, and I'm the director, as you mentioned, of the MSU Museum. I'm also a proud graduate of MSU. I studied here in the nineties.
Speaker 2:My first museum job was at this museum as a student, so it holds a special place in my my heart. And since 2021, right after the pandemic, I've been the director helping to really reimagine the role of the museum and campus life. Awesome.
Speaker 1:So for listeners who may not know, can you explain what the MSU Museum is and what exactly makes it special?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I think one of the most exciting things that people don't know about this MSU Museum is it was founded in 1857 with the first oncoming class of students here at MSU. And that's remarkable when you think at that time, there were less than 500 museums in the entire country. So MSU was really ahead of its time in creating a museum. And over a hundred and sixty years of history, it's evolved in so many ways.
Speaker 2:But where we are today is really reimagining the role of a museum in the twenty first century. So how does it serve its communities? What does it look like to be alive and not just be about exhibitions and the collections? Of course, we're about that, but more. So that manifests in a lot of ways.
Speaker 2:We're also the first affiliate of the Smithsonian in the state of Michigan. So we do a lot of really cool stuff with the 21 museums that make up the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.
Speaker 1:Yeah. That's awesome. And I know, like, since it is on campus, like, lot students, like, will come to it. Do you see a lot of, like, community members as well, and then just people in East Lansing coming?
Speaker 2:So you're kinda getting at one of the the the tensions that's always existed in a museum like this. Right? We're an academic museum. So, of course, being within the office of the provost, we're housed, you know, academically, we're first and foremost serving the students and faculty of our community. But we're also the first land grant in our nation.
Speaker 2:So we have a big role in serving not just the East Lansing and Mid Michigan communities, but really statewide. So we're always thinking about these two tensions. How do we do the best that we can in our campus community and being vital in that regard, but how do we extend our mission throughout the state?
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. So the museum was closed a bit for renovations. What kind of renovations were made to the museum and kind of what was going on during that period of the closure?
Speaker 2:Yeah. We were closed for eighteen months for the first major renovation of this facility. We've always been kind of on the sacred circle across in the library. In fact, we were in the very first dorm at one point, then Linton Hall. I mean, we've kind of always migrated around the circle.
Speaker 2:The building we're in today, most people don't know, was the the library before Oh. This current building. Right? So as you could imagine, the building didn't have what we would call state of the art heating, cooling, things of that nature that make us really good stewards of collections. At the end of the day, that's what a museum is.
Speaker 2:Right? We are stewards of collections. So most of the renovation was really focused on that to ensure that we can continue forward another 150 with collections. But we did do some upgrades to spaces in the museum, including things like new student lounges. And we began to reimagine some of the exhibitions, which will be an ongoing process for the next five to ten years.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. And then is there anything that you're most excited for students and the public to see at the museum with its new renovations and changes, I guess?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, you know, we the students are so embedded in the museum, and we have a student advisory council. We have about 40 students at work in the museum. But what really excites me is really how we serve the Cambridge community. So we have a series called Unwind, for example, that happens once a month.
Speaker 2:That basically helps to create the museum as a third space. Like a place you can just go chill. Yeah. We have two silent discos, for example, in there. And on a Friday night, make 300 students just dancing in the museum.
Speaker 1:That's awesome.
Speaker 2:You know, we partner with the Cadre, another student run group that does DJ parties in the We have student lounges, just places you can drop in. We understand people need places just between campus and the dorm and the classroom just to go and relax. So we think a lot about how we serve students beyond learning. Of course, learning is key. Right?
Speaker 2:Learning experiential learning, internships, all that. But how we can be vital in student life and supporting that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. Do students ever come for, like, classes or, like, research or anything like that?
Speaker 2:Yeah. Those are huge. Okay. We we we have classes that are taught directly out of the museum. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:So for example, we have an iBio class or two in there right now Oh. This week. We also have classrooms that, for example, they don't serve a course over the entire semester. Some of these courses upstairs in our auditorium are taught from first week to finals in the museum. Other classes, sometimes faculty come just to use the collection in module.
Speaker 2:So maybe they want to use a specimen or something from our cultural collections to help demonstrate the content in the class. So yeah, teaching is huge, we have tons of research. In fact, we do a lot with students where they're actually creating new knowledge. We've had students work on projects for the Smithsonian. So that's amazing.
Speaker 2:On their resume, they can say, we've developed an app for a Smithsonian exhibition.
Speaker 1:Wow. I it's funny you say that. I saw when I was just looking on the website, there's some kind of like laboratory called the CoLab. Am I saying that right?
Speaker 2:CoLab? So yeah. It is the CoLab. Okay. CoLab is an innovation division of the museum.
Speaker 2:So it's not actually a space. It's kinda tricky. Right? You hear CoLab studio and you're like, is it a space? It's actually a it's a concept.
Speaker 2:Interesting. It's an innovation studio that enables us to push the boundaries of museum work. And we have a team of students called the Collaborators that, you know, it's a highly, actually competitive, we had about 300 applications for 10 spots. Wow. And they work really dynamically with us to interpret exhibitions.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I do zines. They're really integral to the life of the work of the collab studio.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. I'm also curious about, like, some of the specific exhibits you guys have in the museum. One that really stood out to me was the digital double one. Could you tell me a little bit more about that?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we have over a million objects and specimens, which is massive. Right? We have so many that they're stored even beyond the museum. But we're thinking broadly about how do we make these more accessible for the future.
Speaker 2:So right now, we're taking, you know, a tangible object and specimen. We are creating a three d scan of it. And then we're contemplating how we can then distribute that for AR, VR, and other ways that people can utilize that. And it's really cool. I mean, we see even, like, our game development program here at MSU, which is renowned.
Speaker 2:Right? They we have faculty and students who are looking at, like, textiles in the museum collections, digital versions of that, and how they can use those designs, for example, in game development. Yeah. It's So fascinating.
Speaker 1:Interesting. With the exhibits and also the collections, how exactly does the museum, like, decide what to display, I guess? Because I feel like there's so many different items or collections you could have out there. Like, what is the process like?
Speaker 2:So one of the things that's really, I think, exciting about the reimagined MSU Museum post pandemic is, you know, before this was a museum about science and culture. And now we're interdisciplinary, which means we're about ideas in the collision of disciplines, which is really weird in a hyper disciplined environment of a university. But we think that's the way to address the big wicked things that we're dealing with in the world. So that leads me into content. We do this when we're strategic planning.
Speaker 2:We plan out about five years. We do leave some room in the exhibition schedule for things that pop up that are unexpected, like when generative AI started popping off about two We years did a rapid response exhibition so that people were like, What is this? But we really like to focus on the big issues facing our time. So we've got an exhibition right now, Blurred Realities, which is looking at disinformation, information, how AI is making us confront all kinds of new information in weird ways. We have a show coming up in about a year that's gonna be looking at basically how easy it is for extreme viewpoints to kind of manifest online, and how we provide tools for people to navigate that.
Speaker 2:So, you know, there's a variety of things we look at. And of course, we like to translate faculty and student research as well. So we have a whole gallery. I mean, we're at the vanguard of creating new knowledge at this university. But let's be honest, a lot of us don't know what's going on, it's so vast.
Speaker 2:So we really want to work with the campus community to say, here are the big things that we're developing here on campus that are defining our ways of thinking and doing, and how can we make that accessible? Like, people who have no knowledge can be like, wow. That's amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Definitely. You mentioned the blurred lines exhibit. I find that really interesting just because you mentioned, like, the disinformation with AI and stuff. Like, as a journalism major, that's just something that we, like, have to be very, like we have to really worry about because that's something that I mean, honestly, it affects everyone, but especially, like, as a journalist, like, you're writing articles and you see media.
Speaker 1:Everyone's consuming media at all times. Could you go into a little bit more depth about, like, what the blurred lines exhibit is and kinda what it means?
Speaker 2:So blurred realities. I mean, there's literally our first we have about 30 programs, by the way, that support the exhibition. So we have one that's taking place today that's literally looking at fake news. See that exactly what you've just mentioned. I mean, it's huge in how we interface with things like news and even determining what is real news.
Speaker 2:We know there's a lot of propaganda, right, created now. But it's more than just news. I mean, we're going into an election year. And this is probably the most, kind of I think, scary election year because there's things like deepfakes that are now being created. We see those videos as we're scrolling through our social media feeds even.
Speaker 2:So just thinking about, as we're navigating things that will impact our democracy, how do we identify these things? How do we try to determine what is real? And how do we become, you know, more knowledgeable when we're confronting information today? That's a huge issue. And in fact, I think it was a week or two, you know, the head of Instagram from Meta was just saying, this year will be kind of a watershed year because over 50% of the content on on on Instagram will most likely be AI generated.
Speaker 2:So the videos that we see in our reels and the pictures, is real? What is and that could have a huge impact on us as a society.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. I feel like it's great that these exhibits, I feel like they're almost like reflecting like reality, like what people are experiencing. Because then when they come into the museum, they'll see things that are representing like what they feel or what they think. And I feel like that's super cool for the community just to kind of experience.
Speaker 2:Well, think you hit the head on the nail, I mean, we have to be relevant museums. Absolutely. Because that's how we serve our communities. And we know right now there's a lot of ways people are spending their time and attention, and a lot of ways you can get information. So for a museum to be relevant, we really need to be meeting people with what's impacting their lives.
Speaker 1:Mhmm. Definitely. I kinda I'm curious to know more about the different collections you guys have. And I know this is kind of like a random question, but how are they, like, preserved? Because I can Yeah.
Speaker 1:Guess that a lot of these items are super, super old, hundreds of years old. How are they preserved while they're in the museum?
Speaker 2:Well, that was part and parcel to the renovation. So a broad overview of the the million objects and specimens we have, all kind of in three buckets. We have what we call the Vertebrate Natural Science Collection, which is really exceptional. I mean, we've got extinct birds, and you name it. I mean, things that are just really encompassing our natural world.
Speaker 2:We then have a wonderful archaeology collection that our department of anthropology faculty have been collecting for years. It's largely like the Great Lakes region. It's not pre Incan or Mesopotamia. And then we have what we call the cultural collections, which is really looking at things like ethnography. We have one of the most highly regarded quilt collections that is predominantly African American and Native American, but things that are part of material culture in our life.
Speaker 2:So these are the three broad buckets. Okay. And these things, how we steward them is really I mean, first you have to have a really stable environment. That's the renovation. You have to have a constant humidity and temperature, and not a lot of light, because all these things, they degrade over time.
Speaker 2:So our like a really core part of our mission is making sure these are available for generations to come. And to your point earlier, that's why the digital part is so important. We can make that accessible without damaging the genuine specimen or piece of collection.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. Kinda reminds me of like the special collections exhibit at the library. I know they have so many of these like archived books. I've talked to the faculty members there.
Speaker 1:They like told me about like the like the places where they keep these things. And I feel like that's so like I'd be too scared to like mess something up or like, you know?
Speaker 2:Yeah. And then sure, you've gotta be super trained, right, to
Speaker 1:handle
Speaker 2:those and and provide them to the public. But there's this great like graphic I saw a few years ago in the New York Times, and it was like a pyramid. It was showing, you know, the Met, all these famous museums. And it's literally the portion above the water, the tip is what people interface in the exhibitions. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:That massive chunk under the water is the stuff we have in storage. Yeah. And and museums like ours, museums across the country are trying to make these things more broadly accessible so that we can use those to inform our way of thinking.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. What do you expect the future of the museum to look like over the next few years? Anything you're anticipating? Anything you're hoping for?
Speaker 2:I think we're gonna become more of a generative space. So we use, as kind of our brand tagline, a creative collaboratory. Working more broadly with faculty and our students, not just for creating knowledge and doing research, but how can you generate things, make so I alluded to things like apps and things like that. That's super important. I think that's part of the future of museums, but also just how we continue to be really important social infrastructure.
Speaker 2:I think, like, anyone who's a student here knows, like, we spend a lot of time with our major and the people in our area of study, but, like, it's the spaces around campus that really define our student experience. Totally. And we want to double down on that proposition for students so that we can make their experience here at Michigan State so much better.
Speaker 1:Yeah. For sure. I'm also wondering, do you have, like, a specific favorite part of the facility? Mhmm. I'm sure it's difficult because there's a lot.
Speaker 2:You know, it changes by it changes literally daily based on what we have going on in there. Right now, it's these two new student lounges we have because, like, we've been open just, you know, just a few number of days now since the renovation. And as I kind of cruise the museum, I'm already just seeing, like, students hanging out there, you know? Yeah. You know, killing time in between classes.
Speaker 2:Some are studying, some are just, you know, doing whatever. So that's really important. But it's more like how we use the space. So just even coming up, I mean, we have this residency we're launching right now with the world renowned Detroit techno DJ called Karl Kratt, and he'll be on campus for three months. And we've got some really cool programs with him.
Speaker 2:In fact, he's gonna be in conversation with the co founder of Nine Inch Nails, Chris Vrena, That's cool. Yeah, that's really neat. You know, we've got one of the biggest names in poetry across the country, Mahogany Browne coming in for an event at the museum during National Poetry Month. So watching people use the space and watching the museum come to life through programming is like something that really warms my heart.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. I like how you mentioned the the student lounges too because I know just like a lot of like my classmates and my peers are always looking for a different place to study because when you're studying, you don't always wanna be in the same space or you just need to go somewhere to hang out. And I love that the museum has a space for that for the people who want it because I know that a lot of people do.
Speaker 2:And it's a great location. I mean, we're like a stone sort of grand river, but, like, you know, right in the middle of campus. I mean, it's just a great, like, place if you need, especially when it's cold, like, right now, this winter weather.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah. I know. And it's, like, central to everything. It's great. Yeah.
Speaker 1:One of my last questions for you is what do you want students or even just the community to know about the museum that they might not think about?
Speaker 2:Well, of course, I want them to understand that we, you know, first and foremost have been part of this university's DNA since its inception, which means we're older than a lot of the colleges and But a lot of the things that we're really a vital space where there's constantly activity happening. We have like multiple programs each week, just that we really are trying to meet our students and faculty as a vital piece of the infrastructure here, but in a really fun and engaging way that doesn't feel, you know, dated or boring.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for coming on today, talking about the museum. It was great to hear about all that. I mean, it's been around for so long.
Speaker 1:I love hearing about the new innovations you guys have, new exhibits. It's super awesome. So thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Yeah. Of course.