Last spring we hosted a traveling exhibit about local storytellers that included Mp3 players with recordings of some of the stories and music on Mp3 players. The exhibit was created by an area Heritage Center and included pop-up displays and about five different wooden pedestals they'd had built. Each pedestal had a different Mp3 player strapped to the top; the list of titles available on the player; simple directions to play, fast forward etc.; two hooks - one on either side - each with a set of headphones; and one Mp3 player. The player was held on to the stand by a metal strap - I think it was the kind used to suspend water pipes, with a series of holes down the middle - in the shape of an upside down "U" that threaded through slits cut into the wood platform and then padlocked below to a small wood block attached to the pedestal top. The player was clipped onto the strap. You unlocked the padlock and pulled the strap up to release the clip. When the strap was pulled tight and locked in place it was quite secure. It seems hard to explain, but was very simple. The clips on the player were just plastic so someone could have snapped them off by just jerking really hard, but we never had any problems with it. The Center that loaned it to us hadn't either; nor had another museum that hosted it after we did. Of course we are a very small museum in a rather remote area, so not high traffic. They were so inexpensive though (I think they said they were only about 20 or 25 dollars each) that there isn't much incentive to steal them. If they are stolen, they aren't a huge expense to replace. The worst problem we had was that sometimes people would mess with the programming and change the order etc. I think it was usually people randomly pushing buttons trying to fast forward or adjust the volume - the control icons were very tiny and so if you were of the age for which using the equipment was NOT intutitive and couldn't easily read the instructions, it could be a bit frustrating. (I had volunteers that thought the recordings were bad, but it turned out that someone had turned the volume way down - probably by randomly pushing buttons.) One day, while trying to re-set the order of the recordings on one of the players, I inadverdently erased the whole thing. It was easily remedied - the hardest part was admitting I was the fool who had done it! Anyway, no problems whatever with theft or vandalism. It was a great exhibit and really well received by our visitors. I'm looking forward to doing another one. The really nice thing about it is that it is so affordable and doable for a small museum with a teeny-tiny budget. Good luck! Elise ----- Original Message ----- From: Jenny Mack To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 11:46 AM Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Mp3 Players in Museum Galleries for patron use Hello- I am formulating an exhibition which will feature local Vinyl Records made and produced by local musicians and bands in and round Bloomington, Indiana. Part of the exhibition is using Mp3 Players for patrons to sample some of the music show in the vinyl. I have seen and used this technique in other galleries. Are there any suggession about how to secure the players to avoid theft or any other thoughts about this? Thank you! -- Jenny Mack Exhibits Designer Monroe County History Center 202 E. 6th St. Bloomington, IN 47408 812-332-2517 http://monroehistory.org/ Assistant ASE Teacher WonderLab Museum of Health, Science and Technology 308 West 4th Street Bloomington, IN 47404-5120 (812) 337-1337 www.wonderlab.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L list, click the following link: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1 ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).