These are highlights from one of a series of object study exercises that were held during Object Lab 1.1 at the Chipstone Foundation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in June of 2009. Nine talented undergraduates were in attendance from a variety of schools and many different disciplines--art history, history, studio art, industrial design, geography, and architecture. The overall goal of this intensive material culture program was to explore innovative ways to think about and look at old things.

The Design Exercise specifically asked the students to come up with a display and interpretation strategy for a single object. Three groups competed against one another to see which could come up with the most lucid and creative approach in one afternoon. At the end of the session the students and several invited scholars together critiqued the proposals.