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Michael Sand Archives

Museum and exhibit design since the 1960s

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Home > Explore > Educational curriculum

Discipline: Educational curriculum

  • Educational curriculum
  • Events and presentations
  • Exhibits
  • Facilities and feasibility plans
  • Graphics and identity
  • Research
  • Signage and environmental
  • Technology and media

From the earliest days of his career, Michael was deeply interested in the pedagogical aspect of exhibit design. Cutting his teeth as the first Design Director of the Boston Children’s Museum, Sand and his team immersed themselves in the studies of Piaget, John Dewey, and other education scientist-theorists.

In the mid-’60s, Sand went from the Children’s Museum to the nonprofit Educational Development Center, founded by cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner. As EDC’s Art Director, he helped shape a range of groundbreaking educational curriculum that reached hundreds of thousands of children across the country.

Sand remained a firm believer in learning by doing throughout his career. His exhibits encouraged children and adults to be active participants in their own learning, interacting with physical spaces in ways that created new meanings and understanding.

Great Boston Kite Festival: Kite-making Workshop

MATCh Box Kits

Time Life Science Kits

About the Archives

Michael Sand (1940-2013), was a prolific museum designer and educator who helped pioneer the use of hands-on and technology-driven practices in museums and other learning environments. The Michael Sand Archives contains thousands of Michael’s business and design documents, photographs, media, correspondence, and other material dating back to the early 1960s. The collection is a unique reflection of the collaborative and experimental nature of the design field, and the radical evolution of museum design in the twentieth century.

All content copyright 2017-present, Michael Sand Estate and respective copyright holders.

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