Janet Petitpas
Going on 3 decades of Museum Exhibit Experience
Member Since
April 2025
Worked at AAM for two years in the late 80s before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. Was deputy director at the Bay Area Discovery Museum for many years (started as opening staff at Fort Baker) before moving to London, where I worked for Gyroscope Inc and also at a primary school. Been working in the Exhibits department at the Exploratorium since 2014. Was on the board of the Youth Museum Exhibit Collaborative for over a decade and participate in conferences, grant review, and article as time allows.
Ask me about
Place-based museum work, exhibit maintenance, inclusion in design.
My super power is
Uni-tasking.
I'm looking for
Insiraption from the field, sharing of ideas.
What I love about experience design
What I love about museum work is the informal, free-choice learning aspect of it. People come to share experience together, learn something new, be awed and it’s wonderful to share that joy. It’s also a life-long-learning environment, which keeps me always learning.
Best piece of advice I've ever heard
Hard news is only delivered in person, never in an email or digital communication format.
Where I find Inspiration
In nature.
Practice Area
Exhibition, Placemaking, Strategy/Research/Planning
Focus Area
Destination Experiences, Exhibition, Interactive
Industry
Cultural, Education, Entertainment, Museums, Visitor Centers