On the subject of gift shop merchandise making incursions into
exhibit space...I hate it. Our gift shop manager (and her volunteer
helpers) are forever making little inroads into the exhibit area.
They put jars of honey, children's books, rubber (lifelike!) snakes
and all kinds of things on top of exhibit cases and I promptly move
them back to the gift shop (when no one's looking).

We're at a polite standoff, and even our management is of two minds
on the subject. Our director doesn't like the two areas to mix and
yet our manager feels that the gift shop is itself an educational
experience for the public.

Yet, I think it's not a good idea to allow the two areas to mix. It
could confuse the public and it's a great way to "lose" merchandise.

BTW, in an outbuilding where the public is not supervised (and rarely
observed) I have used a merchandise case to present some artifacts
from ships which were sunk to create artificial reefs. The cases are
reasonably secure, not unattractive and staff wouldn't be heartbroken
if one was damaged (unlike a custom case). In a pinch this type of
case can be very handy for exhibits.

Rhea Tannenbaum
Exhibits Coordinator
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Boca Raton, FL
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RheaT