Museum Strategic Design

Museum of the Riverina | Wagga Wagga

Prepared by Sarah Micallef for
Museum of the Riverina | Mr. Tim Kurylowicz
Submitted on April 3rd, 2018

SARAH
MICALLEF

0401 311 108

sarah_micallef@live.com.au
http://sarahmicallef.mypressonline.com/
Contents Page
SARAH

Design Brief MICALLEF

Design Thinking | Brainstorming

Design Thinking Process
1 | What is?
2 | What if?
3 | What wows?
4 | What works?

Strategic Outcome 1
Strategic Outcome 2
Design Brief
Client Name SARAH
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Museum of the Riverina

Contact Details
Mr. Tim Kurylowicz
Education and Public Programs Officer | Museum of the Riverina
(02) 6926 9655
museum@wagga.nsw.gov.au

Project Title
Museum Strategic Design

Project Deadline
Midnight, Wednesday April 3rd, 2018

Project Budget
Flexible

Estimated Design Project Cost

$2000 (please see Costing Information)

Submission Format
Museum Strategic Design document is to be submitted to client as single PDF

Submission Details
Museum Strategic Design document to be submitted to client via email, with
follow up contact with client via phone in order to confirm receipt.

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Background
Museum of the Riverina is located in Wagga Wagga, NSW (approx 5 hours from Sydney) and
has a population of approx. 64,879 people (2017), with a median age of 34. The Museum is split
over 2 locations, with the Civic Centre site being located in Wagga Wagga town centre and the
Willans Hill site (Botanic Gardens) site being located approx 2.9km away. Both sites have been SARAH
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operating as council run museums since 2000 and mainly attract the demographics of ‘grey
nomads’ (60+ demographic passing through Wagga Wagga) and families with children whom are
seeking to engage in school holiday activities, of which the museum always offers a variety.

Between its 2 sites the museum features a wide array of events and activities which are advertised
in the local paper, social media and physical signage, including an allotment of 6 bus shelter
advertising spaces. The events offered by the museum range from book launches to guest speaker
events, satellite events, art/craft workshops and film festivals, aiming to offer events that suit a
wide variety of ages ranges and interests. The museum has one employee who is responsible
for events, education programs and marketing between the 2 sites. The museum struggling to
engage with the local community and wishes to become recognised as an organisation that is
automatically associated with history and culture in the Wagga Wagga region.

Museum of the Riverina has engaged Sarah Micallef to undertake a Museum Strategic Design
Project in order to formulate and visually outline strategic ideas/campaigns using the Design
Thinking Process. These ideas will provide insight as to how community engagement may be
raised, patronage may be increased and retained, and most importantly, how the Museum of
the Riverina can be at the forefront and centre of conversations regarding history in the region,
elevating recognition of the establishment, acting as an important cultural and historical centre
and becoming the “place to be” for all things history related in the region.

Objectives
The objectives of this Museum Strategic Design project are to produce highly resolved strategic
solutions in visual format which place Museum of the Riverina at the forefront and centre of
discussions regarding history in the Wagga Wagga area, to increase engagement with the local
community and to increase and retain patronage. Young people (aged 20-27) are the dominant
demographic in Wagga Wagga and more needs to be done to capture and retain this market.

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Target Audience
The target audience for this Museum Strategic Design project are residents of Wagga
Wagga and the surrounding areas, with a particular focus on the young adult/teenage
and 20-30 year old demographic, who are currently the demographic with the lowest
museum attendance rate. SARAH
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Consumer Proposition
To create strong cultural and historical engagement and construct a strong cultural future
within Wagga Wagga, with which the community can partake and participate.

Desired Consumer Response

The desired consumer response from this Museum Strategic Design project is for
customers to engage excitedly and enthusiastically with the museum, to spread these
feelings infectiously amongst their networks (face to face and digital) and to ensure a
response of “lets do it again!” to the Museum of the Riverina experience.

Project Scope
The scope of this project is to provide Museum of the Riverina with a detailed Design
Thinking Process PDF document (divided into the sections of What is, What if, What
works and What wows) and 2 final, highly resolved Strategic Outcomes, with graphic
examples and campaign content and ideas. Sketches to support strategies are included
within the scope of this project.

Existing Client Collateral

Museum of the Riverina undertook a rebranding in 2016, and a full set of Brand Guidelines
have been provided by the client, which can be accessed via this embedded link.

Client Descriptive Terms

Community focused, historically and culturally focused, innovative, professional, modern,
flexible, customer experience focused, tech-savvy, future focused, driven by education
and learning, collaborative, lively, passionate, persistent.

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Brand USP
Two sites, countless stories

Competitors
Competitors of the Museum of the Riverina would be considered to be cultural institutions including SARAH
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museums and galleries which focus on history. Although there are several museums and galleries
within the town of Wagga Wagga, these should not be considered to be competitors, as the services
offered are not consistent with those of the Museum of the Riverina and they do not seek to draw
customers out of Wagga Wagga.

Competitors identified include Junee Roundhouse, Historical Society and Broadway Museums in
Junee (approx. 50 mins away), Gundahgai Historical Museum (approx. 59 mins away) and Temora
Rural Museum (approx. 1 hour away), all of which offer cultural experiences close to those currently
offered by the Museum of the Riverina. It is suggested that local tourist attractions (including the
National Art Glass Gallery and Rail Heritage Station Museum) are seen as potential allies that the
Museum of the Riverina can partner with in order to attract and keep customers within Wagga
Wagga to experience history.

Current and past programs/events

There is a current Kidztrack activity at the Willans Hill site, which allows children to aged 5-12 to
explore to museum in a guided, interactive and engaging way via the use of a quiz. The Bald Archy
prize exhibition is an event held at the Civic centre site yearly, now in its 25th year.

The ‘Memory Lounge’ event at the Civic centre is a limited time program (2 days only) where
individuals can have their family history recorded by museum staff, with assistance from a
professional oral historian. The museum developed an app for the Willans Hill site which allows
visitors to experience an app guided tour around the gardens.

The Museum has an extensive list of past events which include a guest talk from Australian journalist
Indira Naidoo, ‘satellite events’ where events such as speeches and conferences are streamed from
the Sydney Opera House, fashion exchange events, drawing workshops, and book launches.

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Costing Information
Design Thinking Process = $800
Strategic Outcomes = $1200

Estimated Total = $2000 SARAH

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Estimated Design and Research Hours = 50 hours

*Please note that these prices are estimates only and are based on the
estimated hours that will be needed to complete each component. Should
the hours taken to complete each piece be higher than estimated, the project
stakeholder will be contacted in order to discuss and authorise the associated
price changes.

Project Stakeholders
Mr. Tim Kurylowicz, preliminary costing, design and strategic decision maker, reporting to Wagga
Wagga City Council, with whom secondary decision making powers lie. Primary decision making
powers for this project (budgetary) lie with the NSW Government.

Project Opportunities
Museum of the Riverina has two sites (Civic Centre and Willans Hill) which presents a fantastic
opportunity to integrate programs and events over the two sites. Each site brings unique
offerings in terms of surrounds, location and event/activity spaces, which when used together could
create varied, dynamic and exciting opportunities.

Additionally to this, Museum of the Riverina is a council run organisation, and therefore exclusive
and desirable elements such as council lands outside of the museum sites and other various council
resources could be utilised for this project.

Project Restrictions
Museum of the Riverina Civic Centre is a heritage listed building and therefore, cannot have signage
attached to the building itself. The inside of the building cannot have structural alterations made,
but adjustments to the space can be conducted.

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Current Marketing Evaluation

Website
The Museum of the Riverina website uses modern and fun colours, is easy to navigate, but looks
decidedly bare, with few photos showing actual customers having fun, engaging and enjoying the SARAH
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museum experience. The website doesn’t encourage browsing due to its brief nature and instead
only encourages people to find out what they need to know and then leave the site.

Twitter
The Twitter account for MOR (@museumriverina) has 1397 followers, is frequently posted to and
features posts which are unappealing, uninteresting and unengaging in nature. The posts are
mainly text with only several photos and even fewer videos appearing. The Twitter account stands
to appeal to older clientele/history buffs but does nothing to entice young customers and has no
social engagement aspect, telling customers to read rather than to interact and participate.

Facebook
The Facebook account for MOR (@museumriverina) has 3624 followers, is frequently posted to and
although it features pictures, these are historical in nature, faded, often illegible and unappealing,
painting the institution as old, boring and not inviting attendance. Similarly to the MOR Twitter
account, the Facebook page does nothing to entice young customers and has no social engagement
aspect, telling customers to read rather than to interact and participate.

Instagram
The Instagram account for MOR has 200 followers and features an array of dull, historical, unenticing
and inconsistent pictures, the majority of which are of very poor quality. This social media channel
doesn’t show customers enjoying the museum and doesn’t encourage people to get involved.

Reviews
Reviews from the above listed social media channels are mainly positive from older clientele “Lovely
old museum” are mainly positive from families “always something to do with the kids” and are
virtually non-existent from younger clientele (teens and 20s/30s).

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Client SWOT analysis

• Strengths
Presents a consistent brand image across touchpoints, with the effective use of professional
Brand Guidelines (exception to this is Twitter and Instagram social media thumbnails which are SARAH
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inconsistent).
Has a strong clientele of ‘grey nomads’ (60+ demographic and families with children.
Has a team of skilled employees, two sites and council lands and resources available for use.
• Weaknesses
Has a weak clientele of young people (teens/20s-30s) with many having never visited.
Has a lack of engagement or interest present in social media posts.
Doesn’t portray itself as a fun, engaging, social or desirable place to spend time.
Is largely engaging with ‘grey nomad’ demographic who are tourists and not rate paying
residents (i.e are not contributing to museum and will likely never return).
• Opportunities
To build a strong clientele with the youth of Wagga, who are now the dominant demographic.
To use the two museum sites in a more effective manner.
To build partnerships and business alliances with the array of historical and cultural institutions in
town.
• Threats
The museum is currently seen as a place to attend only once by the majority of residents.
Is seen as a dated institution by youth and a boring place to visit.
Threat of being seen as a ‘closed door’ institution that simply inhabits its place and doesn’t
actively engage with this community.

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Design Thinking | Brainstorming
SARAH
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Design Thinking Process
1 | What is? SARAH
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• Museum of the Riverina is located in Wagga Wagga, NSW, (approx population 64,879 ,2017).
and is approx. 5 hours away from Sydney. Median age 34 - largest demographic is youth.
• Museum is split over 2 sites that were officially opened in 2000, Civic centre and Willans Hill,
approx 2.9km apart.
• Museum sites are open limited hours - (10am-4pm, Mon-Sat | 10am-2pm, Sun) and are closed
only on Good Friday and Christmas Day.
• Museum has single employee responsible for programs, marketing and advertising, restricting
the time that can be spent on marketing activities and social media engagement.
• Museum is funded and governed by the Wagga Wagga City Council.
• Civic centre site is a heritage listed building, dramatic alterations and affixing signage to the
building is not possible.
• Civic centre site has a large room for presentations, outdoor verandah, bbq and is connected to
a large outdoor courtyard.
• Civic centre site is conveniently located in the town centre of Wagga Wagga, close to public
transport.
• Civic centre site is located close to local tourist landmarks, including the Wagga Wagga visitors
centre, National Glass Art Gallery and Victory Memorial Gardens.
• Main clientele are ‘grey nomads’ (60+ demographic) and families with children who participate
in school holiday activities.

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• Willans Hill site is located close to local tourist attractions Wagga Wagga Zoo and Aviary,
Botanic Gardens and has a bus stop located a short walk from this museum site.
• Museum utilises social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Instagram
and Twitter accounts do not use the standard MOR brandmark as the social media thumbnail, SARAH
instead using potentially unrecognizable historical pictures and creating inconsistency in brand MICALLEF

image.
• Civic centre location is the most popular and visted location due to its close proximity with the
town centre and other cultural attractions (e.g Wagga Art Gallery).
• Museum has access to 6 bus shelters via Wagga Council, with which to place advertising.
• Museum Education and Public Programs Officer states that Museum has not “connected well
with the local community” and now wishes to create regular customers by actively promoting
recurring events and pushing attendance for permanent exhibits.
• The Civic centre site houses travelling exhibitions located within historic council chambers,
whilst the Willans Hill site houses a local history collection, permanent collections, sporting hall
of fame, farm machinery and a Kidzone.
• The Museum wishes to engage more with the teenage, 20-40 demographic, particularly young
people.
• The Museum wishes to be seen as the centre of cultural discussions in and around the Wagga
Wagga area and has few competitors in close proximity, with the closest being the Junee
Historical and Roundhouse museums (approx. 50 mins away).
• The Museum undertook a rebranding in 2016, and as a result has a standardised set of Brand
Guidelines, which are fresh, attractive and legible.
• The Museum is ultimately trying to strike an effective balance between activities and events
that are historically relevant and popular and aims to always offer a range of activities and
events that are suitable for every age group.

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Design Thinking Process
2 | What if? SARAH
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• Original idea = What if a shuttle bus ran between Civic centre and Willans Hill sites?
Extension = What if the Museum could purchase a tour bus and refurbish/retrofit it to house
a travelling exhibit which could not only house selected artifacts, but could also transport
customers between Civic centre and Willans Hill on a schedule? This bus could potentially host
dinners, lunches, brunches on board (potentially partnered with local restaurants) history and
food tours, day tours, night tours, travel to schools, nursing homes/community establishments.
The bus could also be made available for special events such as birthdays, (children/adults),
corporate Christmas parties and be made available to community groups for hire. This bus
would be MOR branded in appearance (colours and brandmark) and have a rotating exhibit
inside, seating for customers and basic dining facilities/toilet facilities.

• Original idea = What if the whole of Wagga Wagga was a museum, with all paths then leading
back to the Museum of the Riverina sites?
Extension = What if footpath stickers with QR codes or chalk paint was used to turn the whole
of Wagga Wagga into a giant living, breathing Museum with information about the buildings,
people, historic events and Indigenous peoples being available as this tour was completed
and the markers were followed? This tour could be self guided using a smartphone (similar to
the app that the Museum already has in its Willans Hill site) and could take users through the
town, potentially starting at the Civic centre and then viewing landmarks such as the first shop
opened in Wagga Wagga in 1851 or the Municipal library being opened in 1951, with a historical
picture and information being generated when the QR code on the sticker is scanned. Would
it be possible to also incorporate some VR element into this town tour in order to bring these
buildings and landmarks to life in order to make the tour more engaging and interactive?
There could also be a level of gamification associated with this tour, with points being able
to be collected for each sticker scanned or site visited which could result in prizes or app
‘achievements’.

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• Original idea = What if the Museum open at night and was the place to be seen in Wagga
Wagga for nighttime social activities?
Extension = What if the opening hours of the Museum were extended (could work for both
sites or one site as an initial trial) in order to hold themed dances, dinners, tours, things that
people who work during the day can attend as an engaging after work activity to socialise SARAH
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and learn more about history? We could even transform the outdoor courtyard area of the
museum into a theatre for nighttime performances, (historical retellings, reenactments, poetry)
have canapes, guest speakers, partnerships with local restaurants or small businesses for
catering, tickets could be purchased by customers for entry to fund events. These nighttime
events could also extend to smaller and more intimate events such as a ‘Murder at the Museum’
mystery series with puzzles and mysteries to be solved, could lead to an ongoing club or
organisation of a weekly or monthly regular event instead of irregular staged events for people
who became deeply involved with particular events (e.g weekly meeting of the Murder at
the Museum Mystery Squad). The potential for varied nighttime events in the museum and
surrounding ground is endless and could turn the location into a social hotspot of history.
• Original idea = What if the Museum was a place where the youth of Wagga could be spotted
with celebrities?
Extension = The appeal of celebrities is enduring and powerful and what if celebrities could be
found within the Museum of the Riverina (could be one site as a trial or both sites, combined
with sites within town)? The ‘celebrities’ could be produced by making life size cardboard
cutouts or figures/sculptures of local or relevant celebrities and actively encouraging the
taking of selfies with the hashtag #morecelebs or something similar and then encouraging
users to spread these tagged pictures all over social media for the chance to win prizes for the
funniest/most unique photos or even the photos that are liked and shared the most by other
users. These celebrities could be moved between sites or swapped out on a rotational basis,
depending on the exhibit (e.g Wagga Wagga cricketers selection for Sporting Hall of Fame
exhibit) or a new ‘Famous Faces of Wagga’ exhibit could be set up to house these celebrities.
Could also be a fun idea to pair with local business and other galleries to house a celebrity or
two there and set up a social media campaign for the museum #monthlymissingceleb and get
people to search for these celebs - relatively cheap and very socially viral competition idea that
has potential for endless variations.

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• Original idea = What if the MOR bus shelter ads were fused with technology?
Extension = What if the 6 x bus shelter MOR ads had the ability to be changed within a
second, via upgrading these ads to digital signage systems? These systems would be able to
be remotely controlled by the Museum by just uploading a new PDF, and we could even look
at making the creation of these PDFs a competition for local artists by providing them with SARAH
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the MOR brand guidelines booklet that has already been produced in order to ensure that the
signs produced were of a high standard of quality and presented a consistent aesthetic. The
digital signage screens could feature rolling ads for permanent collections, events, videos of the
Museum, shuttle bus/MOR bus information, we could even make these digital signage systems
interactive (think kiosks in a shopping centre!) where customers could look up the Museum
information that they wanted to know. Topped with anti-vandal PETG (perspex), this could be
great idea to spread information regarding the museum in a tech savvy and accessible way, and
pending the success of these signage systems in the bus shelters, we could place additional
kiosks throughout town if needed. Could also partner with other galleries/museums in town to
have their information displayed on our signage systems for a fee, or to purchase the systems
together with them for joint interactivity and split costs?
• Original idea = What if we integrated augmented reality/VR with Museum exhibits?
Extension = What if the use of cutting edge technology such as Samsung VR headsets were
integrated into the Museum (both sites or initially one site as a trial) in order to construct more
engaging and interactive exhibits, such as the opening of the first store in 1851 by Dr Robert
Davison or the proclamation as a town in 1849, in order to transport users into the exhibits
in an exciting and enticing way, whilst being exposed to revolutionary technology? This VR
technology is so flexible that it could be incorporated into any exhibit that the Museum decided
to show (from natural history to the Sporting Hall of Fame) and could perhaps even offer the
option of a guided tour where visitors can elect to have a VR guided tour of the Museum, which
is guided by a VR guide which could be fashioned after a famous person of the Wagga Wagga
past/present or a VR version of a current local historian, so that a large number of engaging VR
guided tours could be taking place within the museum concurrently. How engaging would it be
for visitors to be shown through the Sporting Hall of Fame by Michael Slater or Nathan Sharpe
themselves, or for Dame Edna to give visitors a guided tour of the Famous Faces of Wagga
display? Could show items from all over the world without loaning them from other Museums.

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• Original idea = What if we actually set an idea and allowed customers to build some of the
exhibits/exhibit pieces?
Extension = What if we set a theme (could be displayed on the digital signage screens at
bus shelters, social media, etc) and allowed customers to produce items in order to build our
exhibits, and the Museum could be responsible for the display of these items? An example SARAH
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of this could be ‘Wagga Wagga in the Future - design clothing, machinery, inventions, food
that you think will be commonplace in Wagga Wagga 200 years from now’ and advertise
this, allowing contributions from the public (even a particular age limit could be set on certain
displays) in order to stock this display. This is a practical way to engage with the community
and allow them to have some input into what is featured within the museum, encourages
creation and lateral thinking and provides the community with a better sense of museum
ownership. The possible applications of this idea are endless and could also feature social
media elements of displaying winning/all featured pieces on social media, allowing for voting
and Facebook polls on the displays, which could help to guide the direction of the future
questions and to allow the Museum to pinpoint ‘customer designed display ideas’ that would
really engage people and drive a nigh rate of participation.
• Original idea = What if the path between the Civic centre and Willans Hill sites was a museum
to link the experiences?
Extension = What if the Museum purchased a fleet of segways in order to provide guided tours
from the Civic centre to Willans Hill and back, with plexiglass cases along the way which had
museum pieces housed inside them? The tour group could drive along and then stop at each
plexiglass case along the way in order to learn more about the object from the tour guide.
Elements of gamification such as collecting ‘stops’ or VR elements could also be incorporated
into this idea, and the plexiglass cases could have the items within them rotated regularly as
required. One the way back to Civic centre from Willans Hill a new route could be taken which
would involve stopping at a new set of plexiglass cases on the way to inspect new items.
Items could even be placed around the gardens of the Willans Hill site or the tour expanded to
include the machinery artifacts at this site. This idea could be potentially combined with the
‘nighttime activities’ idea and include tours which ran at dusk, tours which involved elements
of dinner and the path of the tour could also be altered as required in order to keep the idea
unpredictable, fresh and varied, as the cases would be removable and on council pathways.

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• Original idea = What if we condensed the physical displays into one site (Willans Hill) and then
made the Civic centre site a purely social museum hub and virtual site?
Extension = What if we moved all of the physical items and displays into the Willans Hill site
(could potentially extend the Museum out into the garden via building extensions) and then
turned the Civic centre location into the Museum of the Riverina - social hub which could SARAH
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house a more full lineup of guest speakers, historic craft and cooking activities, nighttime
presentations and debates, art classes, dinners, dances - historically and culturally themed
activities within a historic building that is conveniently located in the centre of town. This idea
could work to divide the Museum into 2 more separate entities which both cater to different
demographics and provide more individualised services and functions, both of which would
then work cohesively to make the Museum the centre of historical conversations in Wagga
Wagga by turning the Civic centre site into a social hub in which history can be interacted with
in an exclusively hands-on manner, and to encourage active debate and participation in history
rather than the inspection of artifacts. The social hub could have its own social media presence
and push its services strongly via social media, Live video feeds, competitions and advertising.
• Original idea = What if the Museum staged fairground days to engage the town?
Extension = What if quarterly or half yearly, the Museum staged a fairground day in which
the Civic centre location, the adjoined courtyard, park and even potentially the main street
of town was transformed into a historic fair? Local bands could be engaged to play, historic
games and activities could be set up, foods from local vendors could be sold as well as a stall
for items which had been produced in the new Civic centre social hub expanded arts and
crafts space? There could be prizes for the best historical costumes, historical reenactments,
performances, speeches and oral history from our nations first people (specifically the Wirajuri
of Wagga Wagga) and films played in the park for all to enjoy. The fairground would continue
into the Civic centre site and use this site as the centrepoint of the days offerings by using it as
a base of operations by having guest speakers, stall and other activities within the new social
and crafts hub, with cooking and crafts classes running on the fairground day. The fair could
continue into the evening with speeches, dinner, dancing and segway tours all making for a
perfect evening out for Wagga Waggas 20-30 demographic and to also make people fully
aware of the range of activities that the new social hub had to offer and showcase the hands-
on and engaging nature of the hub.

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Design Thinking Process
3 | What wows? SARAH
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• Idea 1 | MOR Explorer History Bus

The idea involves establishing a travelling exhibit and tour bus which could house artifacts,
transport visitors between museum and historical sites and host historically themed dinners
and lunches on board, potentially in partnership with local restaurants. The bus would travel
to nursing homes, schools and surrounding communities in order to make selected museum
exhibits and history more accessible to the community and could be available for hire for
birthdays, corporate events and upon request of community groups for special functions/
events. The bus could also host daytime history tours, nighttime history tours, special day trip
events and would be a moving offshoot of the museum which even could house a historian
or museum employee. The bus could be shared with other historical and cultural institutions
within Wagga Wagga (such as the Civic theatre or National Glass Art Gallery) and could feature
shared exhibits and additionally share resources such as staff. The configuration inside the
bus could be designed as a flexible element in order to house a variety of events and include
disability access in order to cater for all patrons.

This bus would display MOR branding in order to make it a noticeable and clearly identifiable
part of the museum. This idea comes with an array of fantastic and exciting advertising
possibilities, with the most well-suited idea being that of installing digital signage advertising
for the bus service within bus shelters in Wagga Wagga, replacing the 6 x physical signs that
the council has provided to the museum with digital signage featuring promotional videos,
timetables, info-graphics, posters, pictures and potentially even interactive elements. Facebook
and Instagram could be easily used to promote this service and tickets could be purchased
via the museum website, with Facebook live video feed or recording being used to produce
exciting videos of the bus’ travels. Spot the #MORexplorer hashtags, the rotating exhibits inside
and social/recreational elements of this idea make it an exciting and innovative idea.

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Idea 1 | Sketches
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• Idea 2 | Condensing majority of artifacts and displays into Willans Hill site and transforming
Civic Centre site into a Historical Hub
This idea involves moving of all of the display and exhibit items out of the Civic centre site and
over to the Willans Hill site (which could undergo building extensions to house additional items)
making the Civic centre site a large space which could be transformed into the MOR Historical SARAH
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Hub, a building which would be the social presence of the museum and a space which would
be used solely for the purposes of conducting classes, workshops, craft activities, cooking
groups, presentations, speeches, dances, dinners, special functions, guest appearances, historic
reenactments, and could showcase a small few special display items, which could be rotated
to keep the display fresh and relevant to the events being conducted within the hub. The hub
could also conduct a program where the items produced from all of the historically themed
workshops and classes (basket weaving, preserve making, Indigenous cooking classes) could
be donated by the producer in order to be sold in the Historical Hub gift shop, with all profits
supporting local charities. A great idea for giving the producers decision-making power would
be to implement a token system similar to that of the restaurant Grill’d, where the producer
would be given a token for their item donation, which they could then place in a chosen jar, and
the first jar to fill for the month (with a community cause written on it) would receive the funds.

The Historical Hub could additionally partner with local restaurants or community groups (such
as the local Indigenous community) to host a small cafe on site with seating, to provide visitors
with food between events, and digital display screens could be used to show pieces from the
Willans Hill site, without taking up the room that a full physical display would. This idea would
see the Willans Hill site acting as a museum and the Civic centre acting as a Historical Hub,
with both sites being a part of MOR but fulfilling very different functions, with the historic site
acting as the centre of history by providing an array of lively, hands on and social activities that
are not only encouraged to get people talking about history - it is intended to get people living
history, and doing it together as a community. This hub is targeted towards all demographics,
but particularly that of teens and 20s-30s and would have extended opening hours in order
to become a nighttime attraction and host historical special interest clubs. The site and its
activities would be heavily advertised using social media using voting and polling campaigns /
live video feeds and is focused on making history fun, attractive and a social activity.

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Idea 2 | Sketches
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• Idea 3 | Extending the opening hours of the Civic centre site and hosting an array of nighttime
activities
This idea involves extending the hours of the museum from 10am-4pm, Mon-Sat and 10am-
2pm, Sun (potentially as late as 8-9pm) in order to allow people who work or study during the
day to visit the museum and experience not only the displays/exhibits but also to participate in SARAH
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the social elements of visiting a museum environment. These social elements include viewing
pieces with others, partaking in conversations regarding history and also engaging in any
of the numerous historically themed events which could be held to make these nighttime
opening hours an enticing, exciting and engaging option for people to spend their free time
after work participating in. Options for nighttime activities which could be offered during these
extended opening hours include Civic centre site tours with drinks and canapes, historically
themed dances (Wagga Wagga Roaring 20s / ‘Benefit Socials’ of the early 1900s) could see the
transformation of the courtyard outside of the Civic centre site into an outdoor restaurant in
warmer weather which could also house a large stage for historic reenactments by community
groups (perhaps students from the Wagga Wagga school of arts to showcase local talent),
performances by local bands/local poets, guest speakers and cultural performances by
Indigenous community groups. The catering for these events could involve a partnership/range
of partnerships between the museum and local businesses, with ticket costs of the dinner
events covering catering charges.

The Victory Memorial Gardens (across the road from the Civic centre site) present a fantastic
opportunity to extend the activities and events available and could be used in order to host a
‘Movies Under the Stars’ event/series of regular events in which historically themed films could
be shown and the younger demographic of Wagga Wagga could be encouraged to attend as
a Friday/Saturday night ‘date night’ activity. The use of social media advertising via Instagram
and Facebook would be vital in order to make customers aware of these events, and the idea
of digital signage on bus shelters could also be used to promote the events and make the
community aware of the events on offer. This idea would additionally be a fantastic opportunity
for the museum to partner with other cultural and historical institutions within Wagga Wagga
(including the Art Gallery and Civic Theatre) in order to pool resources such as staff and to
perhaps even have unified late hours for cultural institutions on designated nights.

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Idea 3 | Sketches
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• Idea 4 | Integration of VR into Museum exhibits
This idea involves using the cutting-edge technology of virtual reality in order to implement
a number of VR experiences within the museum, which could be used within both of/either
of the Civic centre and Willians Hill sites. Visitors could be transported back in time using VR
technology in order to experience important events in Wagga Wagga history such as the SARAH
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opening of the first store in 1851, the proclamation of town in 1849 or even the Tichborne Trial
in 1871-1872. This technology could additionally be implemented in order to enhance existing
displays, exhibits and areas, such as allowing visitors to view the mega fauna and prehistoric
flora that once would have inhabited the land at the Willians Hill site. The Wagga Wagga
Sporting Hall of Fame within the Willans Hill site would present an ideal opportunity to utilise
this technology, with VR providing visitors with the opportunity to receive a tour of the exhibit
from a selected Sporting Hall of Fame celebrity, such as Michael Slater or Nathan Sharpe. Other
displays and exhibits within the museum could also utilise this technology, such as a ‘Famous
Faces of Wagga Wagga’ exhibit which could be guided by Wagga Wagga celebrities including
Dame Edna Everage, Sharna Burgess or Geraldine Quinn.

Another exciting and engaging opportunity that the utilisation of VR technology could provide
to the Museum of the Riverina, is the opportunity to make the institution the centre of history
in the region by using VR to bring world famous artifacts that are relevant to current displays
and exhibitions, such as artifacts from Al Capone that are currently housed in the National
Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement in Las Vegas which might be suitable for
the Wagga Wagga Roaring 20s exhibition. Additionally, instead of just viewing these items
behind a case, VR provides the viewer with the opportunity to more closely inspect these
objects in digital form, producing personalised experiences that are unique and memorable
to each viewer. In order to further personalise the experiences provided by VR within the
museum/s ‘Choose your own adventure’ elements could also potentially be implemented within
the VR experience/s offered. A range of VR technology is currently available and Samsung,
Oculus and HTC solutions could be investigated in order to implement this idea. Viewing rooms
could be implemented for Samsung/Oculus solutions and small ‘interactive’ stages could be
implemented for the HTC solution (which offers Room Scale functionality). Digital marketing
would be an excellent option for this idea, with live feed and videos being a essential element to
promote the functionality and experience offered to visitors.

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Idea 4 | Sketches
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• Idea 5 | Integration of Museum artifacts into the town of Wagga Wagga
This idea involves placing anti-vandal PETG plexi-glass cases throughout Wagga Wagga
(targeted to the main street, areas with busy foot traffic - starting at the Civic centre site) and
placing selected unique, engaging, interesting and conversation starting pieces within these
cases. The cases would be shatter proof, airtight and watertight, UV coated to protect the SARAH
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pieces, security alarmed and would be locked to the pavement in order to ensure that the cases
could be moved and that the location of the cases could be changed and reconfigured in order
to keep the attraction fresh, unpredictable and exciting. The items within the cases would also
be rotated on a predetermined basis and could even form a display themselves via travelling
case to case or could simply act as a part of/supplement to a display or exhibit that was
already being conducted within the Civic centre museum site. These cases would feature MOR
branding, a suggested hashtag for social media involvement, QR codes in order to scan and
learn more about the item, a very brief item description and also a large case number which
showed the ‘stop’ number that the case was on the MOR Segway Tour.

The MOR Segway Tour is the second component of this idea and involves embarking on a
guided Segway Tour from the Civic centre site, with the guide (historian or museum employee)
stopping at each of the cases along the tour to inform the tour group of information pertaining
to the piece. An element of gamification could be added to this idea, by marking each of the
cases with a special digital ‘code’ (sticker) which then linked to an app (DIY app such as izi.
Travel which is already used for a walking tour within the Willans Hill site) for which visitors
could receive ‘points’ in the app and tick the piece of the tour ‘list’, with app points then
being able to be converted into physical prizes and rewards from the museum. The tour could
also be completed by walking, could stretch from the Civic centre, through town and to the
Willans Hill centre, leading visitors from one museum site to the other and linking the two sites
together in an interesting and engaging way, allowing visitors to experience Wagga Wagga
as a living, breathing museum. This idea utilises the elements of curiosity and surprise as their
main attributes, as residents will be surprised to find an array of MOR branded boxes bolted to
sidewalks, will be curious about the contents and undoubtedly curious to see how they can get
involved with these historical elements that are now living outside of the museum. Social media
and gamification are strong campaign ideas, encouraging tagging and selfie culture in the
younger demographic of Wagga Wagga via these dynamic and unexpected displays.

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Idea 5 | Sketches
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Design Thinking Process
4 | What works? SARAH
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• Idea 1 | MOR Explorer History Bus

Evaluation - This idea stands to be innovative and impactful by actively transporting and
promoting history to the community, working as portable advertising for the museum. The
concept is customer-focused, accessible and flexible in the proposed services to be offered.
However, both the initial (estimated at $975,000) and ongoing financial outlay for this idea
would be exorbitant, and this cost would be difficult to justify when this idea potentially
stands to be a trend which may start off strongly and invoke initial interest, but without very
strong and consistent marketing /promotions has the definite possibility of losing its power,
as individuals experience the MOR Explorer but choose to not engage with the Museum sites
outside of this experience.

This is a bold, extravagant and risky idea which would engage and appeal to the 60+
demographic, children and the 40-50 demographic, but would realistically do little to engage
the teenage/20-30 demographic, outside of being a dining and entertainment experience
that would be enjoyed once and then forgotten about. This idea could very likely assist the
institution to own the focus of history within the region by offering a unique service and
actively promoting history by bringing history directly to the doors of Wagga Wagga residents,
but does little to boost the frequency and depth in interaction with their visitors and potential
visitors. The depth of interaction with customers resulting from this idea has the potential to be
a superficial gimmick, and this idea cannot assure that the frequency of interaction would be
increased, despite the significant investments of time and money that would be required simply
to make and keep this concept operational. In comparing estimated investment vs return, this
idea is not deemed to be a strategically sound option.

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• Idea 2 | Condensing majority of artifacts and displays into Willans Hill site and transforming
Civic Centre site into a Historical Hub

Evaluation - This idea stands to revolutionise the Museum of the Riverina by effectively dividing
the sites into two more uniquely separated and distinct branches of the same institution, SARAH
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with the Willans Hill site taking over as the sole museum space and the Civic centre space
transforming into a Historic Hub. This strategic decision will not only assist the institution
in connecting more with the community, but will also allow appeal to the demographic of
teenagers/20-30 year olds, a vital part of the Wagga Wagga community who currently have
the lowest institution participation and engagement rates. The idea does present costs for
the relocation of goods, potential extension of the Willans Hill site and extensive advertising
to make this change, as well as the refurbishment and re-purposing of rooms within the Civic
centre site. Additionally to this, there would be an element of downtime for both sites during
this change, with an estimated closing time of 3 weeks in order for these changes to be carried
out in their entirety.

Despite the significant challenges presented by this idea, it is clear that the separation of the
Willans Hill site into a museum and the establishment of the Civic centre site as a Historical
Hub featuring a wide array of historically and culturally themed activities could be extremely
beneficial to the Wagga Wagga community. This idea has the potential to change the institution
dramatically and to help it be viewed as a fun, lively, social and innovative place that the youth
of Wagga Wagga would actually enjoy interacting and engaging with, whilst still offering
activities that other demographics could enjoy, encouraging the different community members
and demographics to share the same space as a social site and to foster conversations
about history that all hold MOR as the key innovator and the owner of history in the Wagga
Wagga region. This idea could boost the frequency and depth in interaction with visitors
and potential visitors by transforming the space into a hands-on and engaging ‘one stop
shop’ for unforgettable historical experiences that not only encourages frequency due to the
interactive experiences offered, but also a rich depth in interaction by giving providing visitors
with experiences that truly meld history with entertainment. This brave, innovative, social and
forward thinking idea is deemed to be a strategically sound option.

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• Idea 3 | Extending the opening hours of the Civic centre site and hosting an array of nighttime
activities

Evaluation - This idea has the potential to innovate and inject a fresh, fun and social element
into MOR, making it possible for people to experience the institution that would have previously SARAH
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been unable to due to due to limited and relatively inconvenient hours of operation. The
extension of hours has the potential to cater to the demographics of teenagers/20-50 and sees
the museum acting as both a historical/cultural experience and an entertainment experience
in order to engage, entice and actively involve these groups in history and the community via
the implementation of a wide range of historically based social activities to be held in during
these extended hours. The costs associated with this idea could fluctuate greatly depending
on the lineup of activities offered, ranging from relatively low outlay activities such as a ‘Murder
at the Museum’ historic mystery club, to medium outlay activities such as ‘Drinks and Canapes’
Tours and large outlay activities such as historically themed dances and dinners. Costs could be
mitigated via charging for entry to certain events, however additional costs such as staff labor
for event setup/breakdown and labor for the strategic preparation and planning of events and
any associated licensing (such as for the public screening of films) could have the potential
to amass quickly and if these costs were passed onto customers in their entirety, ticket prices
could become unaffordable and attendance rates would plummet.

Although this idea has the potential to be impactful and to highlight MOR as the owner of
history in the region via the provision of historically and culturally relevant social activities, this
idea would not be particularly well suited to the current environment of the Civic centre, which
lacks the space in order for a comprehensive array of activities to be held inside concurrently
with great success. This idea would be most well paired with the idea of condensing majority of
artifacts and displays into Willans Hill site and transforming Civic Centre site into Historical Hub,
which would then benefit from extended opening hours and the implementation of activities
which could be specifically undertaken within the purpose configured hub environment. MOR
would own its focus of history and radically boost the frequency and depth in interaction
with visitors and potential visitors via extending hours in order to offer engaging, exciting and
dynamically varied experiences, although this idea is not deemed to be a strategically sound
option within the current Civic centre space, with a Historical Hub being recommended.

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• Idea 4 | Integration of VR into Museum exhibits

Evaluation - This idea stands to be an innovative, forward thinking and revolutionary concept
which has the potential to transform MOR from a museum and into an institution of the future
that offers unique and unforgettable historical experiences within the Wagga Wagga area. The SARAH
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cost of implementing this idea would be significant, with estimated hardware costs of between
$500-$900 per VR headset + earphone unit (depending on brand chosen) and additional costs
for the setup of suitable viewing rooms or individual viewing booths in order to host the VR
experiences. The largest cost associated with this idea is the software element, which would
require the engagement of a software developer in order to write, test and implement the VR
experiences that the museum wished to offer to visitors. With estimated project costs of $250
per hour and minimum project development hours of 150 hours for a basic VR experience, costs
could become exorbitant, with a minimum project cost of $37,500 for a simple VR experience.
Once users engaged with a VR experience once it is likely that they would choose to not
engage with this experience again, instead waiting for new VR experiences to become available,
with this resulting in growing costs for this service and a client base with shallow depth of
engagement and a frequency that relied on the offering of a revolving door of VR experiences.

This idea presents significant monetary challenges and despite the cutting edge VR technolo-
gy currently available, this industry is moving at such a fast pace that software and hardware
purchased at this current time would likely date very quickly and be seen as an aged and sec-
ond-class offering in a short matter of months or years. It is for these reasons that the integra-
tion of VR into Museum exhibits is is not deemed to be a strategically sound option for MOR at
this point in time. It is however suggested that MOR keeps this idea in mind for possible future
implementation at such a time as a greater range of prepackaged VR options are available,
which the museum can self program and manage, such as InstaVR which is still in its infancy
and could be trialled by MOR as a future DIY project for very basic VR interactivity. Although
an attractive option, this option is not currently viewed to be an idea that would radically boost
the frequency and depth in interaction with visitors and potential visitors and does little to as-
sist the institution in its desire to own history within the Wagga Wagga area, instead acting as
an ‘on trend’ gimmick that has a short life span and high anticipated turn around rates.

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• Idea 5 | Integration of Museum artifacts into the town of Wagga Wagga

Evaluation - This bold, innovative, fresh and fearless idea stands to dramatically change not only
the conversations regarding history within Wagga Wagga, but also to showcase the presence
of MOR in a public, open and bold manner, highlighting the institution as the owners and SARAH
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keepers of history within the region. This idea takes history out of its perceived ‘hiding place’ of
museums and instead aims to make this history an integrated and omnipresent part of Wagga
Wagga life which is encountered throughout the town and surrounds, encouraging interest,
engagement and conversations which revolve around MOR as the provider of fantastic and fun
historical experiences that are unique and thoughtfully constructed. The cost of implementing
this idea would be significant, with each anti-vandal PEGT case standing to cost between
$1200-$2000 and a substantial number of cases being required in order to execute this idea
at its fullest projected scale. Additionally to this, significant costs do lie in the potential loss
or damage of artifacts that are placed in the cases, should events occur from which the cases
cannot provide protection (malicious damage with a vehicle, etc.). Despite these challenging
aspects, the long term costs of this idea are minimal, with initial outlay being the majority of
costs and upkeep/replacement/repair costs associated with the cases being minor.

Outside of malicious damage, the risks to artifacts placed within the cases are minimal, with
cases providing UV, airtight and waterproof protection for artifacts, with any artifacts that did
not require special housing conditions being able to be placed within these cases for display.
This idea is innovative, unique and potentially highly impactful, as it makes MOR history an
active and everyday part of Wagga Wagga, will work to encourage history based conversations,
and each case will work as effective and meaningful advertising for MOR. This idea can assist
MOR in owning history by showcasing its expertise proudly throughout the town, and would
work to boost frequency and depth in interaction with visitors and potential visitors not only
via the increased MOR physical presence within the town, but also by encouraging engagement
with MOR beyond the cases in order to discover the rest of the experience alluded to. This idea
can be closely tailored with varying configurations and rotating display items, is cost effective
and designed to engage all demographics with social media integration for the teenage/20-30
bracket, and it is for these reasons that idea is deemed to be a strategically sound option.

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Strategic Outcome 1
Strategy 1 | Condensing of artifacts and displays into the Willans Hill site and SARAH
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transforming the Civic Centre site into a Historical Hub

Item 1 - MOR social sub-branded poster which is advertising an

upcoming social cooking event featuring celebrity chef Mark
Olive. The event has cultural ties to the Indigenous peoples
of the Wagga Wagga area (Wirajuri) and will be held at the
Historical Hub site, being primarily marketed as an opportunity
to experience with friends, a chance to make new friends and
a great Friday night social opportunity. MOR social media
accounts will market this event and the poster encourages
conversation and interaction.
Item 2 - MOR social
sub-brand logo
which will be used
on signage and
posters for all events
and programs at
the Civic centre
Historical Hub. This
new sub brand logo
aims to present the
vibrant, social, and
fresh nature of this
centre, whilst still
identifying it as a
part of MOR.

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Item 3 - Visualisation of the Council Chambers in Civic centre converted into a Historical Hub workshop room.

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 Item 5 - Instagram post from an
avid social media user who attends
the hub, acts as free marketing and
shows others how great a place it
really is to spend time.

Item 4 - Facebook post used to Item 6 - Facebook post announcing

promote the Taste of Historic Wagga news of the Historical Hub and just the
Historic cooking class at the Historical beginning of making the Hub a place
Hub. Presents the hub as a fun, that markets heavily via social media
vibrant, social and exciting place to and lets visitors do the marketing too
meet with friends or make new ones! via sharing and tagging.

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Strategy Rationale
This innovative strategy of using the Willans Hill site as the sole museum featuring displays/artifacts, and SARAH
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transforming the Civic centre site into a Historical Hub that is home to events, classes, workshops and
historical/cultural social life in Wagga Wagga has the potential to be an extremely impactful solution.
This strategy aims to change the associations of the museum from an antiquated storage house for
objects and into a social, fun, lively, interactive and interesting place to be, and a place that will greatly
appeal to the demographic of teens/20-30s, whilst not alienating older individuals or people with
families, by offering events that cater to everyone. Local business partnership opportunities are plentiful.

This strategy additionally involves the extension of hours in order to transform the Historical Hub
into a great place to be after work/on weekend nights and will utilise social media users as one of its
marketing channels, which will also ensure that the museum doesn’t have to spend as much time itself
on marketing, by providing a great atmosphere, great offerings and allowing users to do the rest. A gift
shop would allow the items produced in the classes and workshops to go to good use and the ‘token
donation system’ would allow the producers to feel as though they are actively contributing to making a
better Wagga Wagga, and is a great posting opportunity for social media. This also allows the museum
to contribute to the public good without this being at an exorbitant ongoing cost.

The establishment of a Historical Hub will allow the institution to modernise its image as well as making
the best use of the two sites that it has by allowing them to work effectively to cater more specifically
to different demographics. The set schedule of repeat events will boost the frequency of interactions
that the community stands to have with the institution, and the depth in interaction will be boosted
by the fact that customers are having hands on, meaningful experiences when they attend, which they
can share with friends and family and on social media in order to keep these conversations going. This
strategy will allow the Museum of the Riverina to own its focus of history by appealing and catering
to the future owners of historical conversations, the youth, by engaging them and making history a
engaging and social prospect. The expected outcome from this strategy implementation will be that
customers will want to visit the museum sites time and time again and become actively involved.

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Strategic Outcome 2
Strategy 2 | Integration of Museum artifacts into the town of Wagga Wagga
Item 1 - Display case for placement within
streets of town, MOR branded and labeled with
MOR social media information encouraging
photos, tagging and interaction with display.
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Item 2 - Path stickers, placed within close proximity of cases. These
stickers act as a guide to lead people from one case to the next,
with each featuring a fact regarding the history/culture of Wagga
Wagga, with people being able to find out more information by
scanning the QR code found on each sticker. Each sticker QR code
and case QR code could have a ‘point’ value assigned to it in the izi.
TRAVEL app, with points being able to be collected in order to win
prizes, secret and double points cases being able to be assigned for
added fun and ‘which case am I’? riddles and competitions being
able to be promoted via social media in order to add a fresh edge
to this challenge. People would be encouraged to take selfies with
and photos of the stickers and to share with friends.
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Item 4 - Visualisation of display case placed in Baylis Street, Wagga Wagga.

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 Item 6 - Facebook post on the
Museum of the Riverina page,
encouraging users to engage with
the displays and incentivising via
gamification, with prize, point and
competition elements.

Item 5 - Example of izi.TRAVEL Item 7 - Facebook post on the Museum

app which could be developed of the Riverina page, featuring a
to compliment stickers and competition which involves the location
displays. Encourages social media of a secret mystery case in order to win
interaction and the collection of a prize. Users must post a selfie and the
points for the chance to win prizes. case number once found.

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Strategy Rationale
This unique, brave, engaging and innovative strategy of placing MOR display cases throughout the SARAH
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town of Wagga Wagga has the potential to be an extremely impactful solution. This strategy aims
to change perceptions of the museum being a ‘closed doors’ and hidden institution and instead
showing the museum to be an outgoing and modern institution which can offer experiences and
rewards like no other. This strategy will not only appeal strongly to the demographic of teens/20-
30s for the social experiences involved, but also to families for the educational/free activity
experiences involved and older residents for the free/activity/potential nostalgia and conversation
piece experiences involved. Local business partnership opportunities are plentiful.

This strategy involves the placing of stickers and cases throughout Wagga Wagga, linking the
Willans Hill museum and the Civic centre Historical Hub by creating a trail of cases which can be
undertaken either as a leisurely walking tour with the izi.TRAVEL app, a segway tour departing
from either of the MOR sites or can simply be enjoyed whilst people in the town are undertaking
their daily lives, as these cases will make MOR history an everyday fixture that is prominent within
the town. Stickers and case display items/case locations can be rotated and changed in order to
keep this idea fresh and to extend its lifespan, with this strategy being excellent value for money
which stands to cause very little disruption to the daily activities of MOR. Social media will be
a main advertising channel for this strategy, with social media users spreading information and
driving the program primarily themselves, leaving MOR marketing staff with additional time to
execute competitions, quizzes and promotions for this strategy.

The additional of MOR cases within the town will not only appeal to all demographics but will
greatly boost the frequency of historical conversations due to daily exposure, with MOR being
at the centre of these conversations as the providers of this unique experience. The depth in
interaction will also be significantly boosted by pairing the cases with a range of gamified,
incentivised, competitions and quizzes using social media channels which will encourage users
to become invested and involved in this experience on an ongoing basis and to encourage
participation amongst others.

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Design is thinking made visual - Saul Bass
This document was proudly prepared by Sarah Micallef
for Museum of the Riverina, Wagga Wagga, NSW

SARAH
MICALLEF

0401 311 108

sarah_micallef@live.com.au
http://sarahmicallef.mypressonline.com/