Exhibit Guide
The Concept The idea of this interactive exhibit is to put museum viewers in the shoes of a parent of the 1960s. It involves them coming home from work or something of the sort and witnessing how the Vietnam War is affecting society and life at home for them. They are just trying to go about their day, but are assaulted by information and misfortunes of the war the whole time, and struggle to maintain a relationship with their family. For while a war is being fought in Vietnam, so too is a war happening between adults and youth. The hope of this exhibit is to not only give a look into how things were during the counterculture of the 1960s, but to promote the relationship between parents and children. It is the goal of this exhibit to encourage communication and interaction between parent and child, to convince parents not to discredit what the child has to say just because of their youth, and to convince children to respect parents and authority figures. The exhibit aims to appeal to parents primarily. Parents who grew up in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, parents in general, or those looking to become parents in the near future may find appeal in this exhibit. The exhibit will be laid out as a replica home, but with a one-way path. Visitors will travel through a kitchen, bedroom, living room, etcetera, while being surrounded by evidence and news of an uprising of counterculture. The rooms will also have various plaques displayed throughout that give information on the displays and their relevance to counterculture and the Vietnam War. The interior will be modeled after a 1960s suburban, American home, with the entrance and exit giving off the illusion of the front yard and neighborhood of that home. The exhibit will open on June 1st of 2020, and remain open until September 30th of 2020. Guests can enter the exhibit at a price of $10 per person, with children 17 years of age and younger given free admission
The Content
Entrance/Front Yard Those entering will approach a fake wall decorated as an exterior front of a 1960s home, with large backdrops on their left and right to make it look as though they are approaching a home on a neighborhood street. On one of the fake sidewalks, actors will be placed, imitating performers like Willy and the Poor Boys, who played music on street corners to request nickels and lift people’s spirits with music. The 4 actors will be playing a gut bass, a washboard, a kalamazoo, and a kazoo, as musicians like Willy and the Poor Boys did. A stand-up plaque or something of the sort should be put on display near these actors, as well as throughout the entire exhibit, in order to give context and information relating to the content being shown in each particular The front door of the home will be open, and lead to an entrance hall.
Kitchen One will enter the kitchen at the end of the entrance hall. This kitchen will be styled to fit that of a 1960’s home, like the rest of the rooms of the exhibit. However, just like the rest of the rooms, it should be relatively plain and not overly-decorated. This should serve as a means to draw attention to the material of the exhibit and the informational plaques. In the middle of the kitchen should stand a small dining table, with a single 1960s radio as the focal point resting on top of it. This radio will be programed to transmit an old broadcast detailing some news on the Vietnam War and how ablebodied young men are being sent off to war.
Bathroom After leaving the kitchen, on will travel down a hallway which will lead them to a bathroom. Like the kitchen, bathroom should be styled after that of a 1960s one, and ordinary and empty except for necessary items. In this room, this will be newspapers littering the whole room. They should be pasted on the countertops, toilet, and parts of the floor and walls. These newspapers will be actual old copies of those distributed in the 1960s. They should feature main headline articles detailing events that led up to and contributed toward the counterculture movement of the 1960s. The newspapers should include but not be limited to articles detailing the assassination of President Kennedy, the drafting and conflict of the Vietnam War, uprising of counterculture movements like hippies, and the war between adults and police groups against these groups. These articles will be displayed as headlines, so that museum visitors can get the point without having to actually stop and read the whole newspaper articles.
Master Bedroom The bathroom will connect right into a master bedroom, styled after a 1960s one. Sitting on the bed will be another actress, a middle-aged woman. Presumably the museum visitor’s significant other, she will blatantly ignore the visitors, eyes focused only on the television sitting atop the nearby dresser. The television will also be an old one, taken from the era of the 1960s. On this television, an old actual news broadcast will be shown, one that covers the rising of the countercultures who reject society. It will also mention how many youth are being influenced by these counterculture groups, and are developing a strained relationship with their parents and all other adults as a result.
Hallway/Son’s Bedroom Leaving the bedroom will put the museum visitors back into another hallway. Traveling further down the hallway, they will hear loud music, coming from behind a locked door. Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” is the suggested music, as the musical inspiration behind this exhibit, and who were a part of the counterculture movement. Plaques of information will be outside of the door to draw viewers in. The door will have a sign on it that says “Terrance’s Room,” and is assumed to be the bedroom of the teenage son of the museum visitor. The locked room is meant to show how the visitor’s son too has begun to rebel against adults by following the example of the developing counterculture groups. An actor will be behind the door, with a camera just outside of the door that broadcasts a live feedback of the hallway to this actor. Whenever a visitor pauses in front of the door, the actor will spout angry remarks to the visitor, treating them as their parent. “Get out of here, MOM! You don’t understand anything.” “I bet you support the war. Conformist!” “You’re just like the others, Dad. It’s all about money and the government, isn’t it?”
Living Room At the end of the hallway, the museum visitors will enter a living room space. The living room will be as plain as any other room, save for a couch in the center and a television resting atop an entertainment center positioned facing the sofa. All decor should still be consistent with a 1960s atmosphere and era. The old television will be featuring actual old news broadcasts and video footage of peaceful protests of the counterculture groups, and their constant war with the police as the Vietnam War rages on. On the far wall of the room, another window will be put in, showing the outside front lawn again. Outside, a larger group of actors will be staging a peaceful protest. This will be the final area of the exhibit that the visitor will have to walk through.
Exit/Front Yard Once visitors leave the living room, they will be “outside” again in their front yard. This room should be identical to the entrance front yard, except this one has a group of actor protesters, instead of the actor musicians featured at the entrance of the exhibit. These actor will be posing as protesters, members of counterculture groups. The protesters will follow museum visitors, throwing around anti-war propaganda like “make love, not war,” and other “hippie lingo.” Among the protesters will be another one of the hypothetical children of the visitor, encouraging them to see reason and to stop being so blinded by “the man” (slang for police/government) and “bad maya” (slang for negative energy).
The Promotion Advertising Screen The exhibit aims to reach out to a range within 60-100 miles outside and within Washington DC. For this reason, much of the promotional material will reflect this, appealing to locals, travelers, and tourists alike. A standing display screen such as the one displayed below will be featured at a DC airport, such as the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Advertising screens such as this should be deployed at the airport four weeks prior to the exhibit’s opening, and should remain on display until the final week of the exhibit’s showing. The size of these display screen advertisements will be 55’’ when measured diagonally across.
Tickets priced at
$10.00 Join us
June - Sept 2020 Visit our Facebook page for updates and more info!
Come and relive a �me of war and counterculture. “Counterculture - The War in your Home” aims to put audiences back in the shoes of parents in the 1960s. Guests will experience and learn from the familial struggle of the 1960s, and grow closer to their own family as a result!
Hosted by
The Smithsonian Museum of American History
Billboard This billboard will be put on display in the city, for many to see as they drive to and from work, or wherever they may go in the highly populated settlement. Another convenient location to consider is highways surrounding the DC area that have high traffic. The I-495 Beltway, for example, is an interstate that surrounds Washington DC’s perimeter, and is one of the most high-traffic interstates in the United States. It would be an ideal location to feature the billboard for advertising to the surrounding area of DC. Billboards such as this should be set up four weeks prior to the exhibit’s opening, and should remain on display until the final week of the exhibit’s showing. The size of these billboard advertisements will be 14’ x 48’ at full size.
June - September 2020 Visit our Facebook page for updates and more info!
Bus Wrap Keeping loyal to the theme of local advertising, a bus wrap would serve well for all who commune in the busy downtown of DC. Primarily, it will catch the eye of those who prefer to take the bus or do not have access to their own car. Perhaps they walk or take their bike to get around the city, too. The buses travel all throughout the city, and are seen by all in the high-traffic area whether they walk, bike, or drive. The Metrobus, ran through the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, will be an ideal advertising outlet. It is the sixth busiest bus agency in the United States and provides travel to more than 400,000 trips daily across the districts of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Bus wraps should be applied to buses four weeks prior to the exhibit’s opening, and should remain on display until the final week of the exhibit’s showing.
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June - September 2020
June - September 2020
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Museum Ticket This ticket will be used as the source of admission into the exhibit. With a tear-off barcode portion for exhibit staff only, museum visitors get to keep the other portion of the ticket as both a souvenir and proof of their purchase. Tickets will cost each guest $10, but children aged 17 years and under can get into the exhibit free of charge. These tickets can be bought ONLY at the exhibit itself. These tickets will be sized at 5.5’’ by 2’’, with the tearoff portion measuring 1’’ by 2’’ and the customer portion 4.5’’ by 2’’.
Smithsonian Museum of American History Admission: Counterculture - TWH 1 Adult July 14, 2020
$10.00 2:44 PM
Ticket valid all day Ticket NON-REFUNDABLE and NOT FOR RESALE Enjoy your visit! Transac�on #11249238
Newspaper Advertisement This ad will take up a space in ONE daily newspaper per WEEK during the period that the exhibit will be open for, in addition to 4 weeks before the exhibit’s opening. An ad will run in a newspaper every Friday. The newspaper ads will be featured in a weekly rotation between three newspaper outlets. For example, during week 1, newspaper 1 will feature the ad, followed by newspaper 2 featuring on week 2, newspaper 3 week three, and then back to newspaper 1 on week 4. The following newspapers are the most ideal candidates for featuring an ad in: The Washington Post, The Washington Times. They are some of the most popular newspapers in and around Washington DC, and are most likely to get the largest public outreach. This newspaper ad is styled after that of a 1/8 page strip. It measures 9.87’’ by 3’’.
June - September 2020 Come and relive a �me of war and counterculture. Experience and learn from the familial struggle of the 1960s, and grow closer to your own family as a result! Visit our Facebook page for updates and more info!
Postcard These postcards will be sent out to a mailing list composed of individuals 24 years of age and older, married or formerly married, and within a 60 mile radius of Washington D.C. Reaching out to these kinds of adults gives more probability that you are reaching parents or soon-to-be parents. These postcards should be sent through the mail to those on the mailing list four weeks prior to the exhibit’s opening. A second wave of postcards can be sent out if budget allows. The size of these postcards is the standard A6, at 5.8’’ by 4.1’’.
June - September 2020 Come and relive a �me of war and counterculture. Experience and learn from the familial struggle of the 1960s, and grow closer to your own family as a result!
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Smithsonian Museum of American History 1300 Constitution Ave NW Washington DC. 20560
PRESORTED FIRST-CLASS MAIL US POSTAGE PAID WASHINGTON DC PERMIT NO. 87
Rack Cards These cards will be featured in rest areas surrounding and approaching Washington DC, in order to advertise and promote the exhibit to travelers, tourists, and those on road trips. In addition to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, rack cards should be put on display in the following rest stop areas: Rest Area. Interstate 95, Woodbridge, VA 22191 Dale City Car-Only Safety Rest Area South. Interstate 95, Dumfries, VA 22025 Manassas Safety Rest Area East. Manassas, VA 20109 These rack cards should be set out at the airport and rest areas four weeks prior to the exhibit’s opening, and should remain on display until the final week of the exhibit’s showing. The size of these rack cards follows the average, at 3.5’’ by 8.5’’.
Tickets priced at
$10.00 Join us
June - Sept 2020 Visit our Facebook page for updates and more info!
Come and relive a �me of war and counterculture. “Counterculture - The War in your Home” aims to put audiences back in the shoes of parents in the 1960s. Guests will experience and learn from the familial struggle of the 1960s, and grow closer to their own family as a result!
Hosted by
The Smithsonian Museum of American History
Facebook Page This will be the primary social media output for the exhibit. It will be used to keep followers informed about the exhibit features, opening times, and overall promotion. This social media page is meant to serve as a primary source of information for those who only briefly saw an ad, such as on a billboard, and didn’t have time to stop and read more about the exhibit. Each piece of promotional media will direct potential visitors to the Facebook page for more information.
The Pricing Museum Exhibit Building
Promotional
Wallpapers, floors, windows, doors, retrro televisions, radio, furnishings, instruments: ≈ $180,000
Newspaper article creation and advertising: ≈$563 per day x 17 days ≈ $9,571
Security cameras: ≈ $1,500 Video and audio rights: ≈ $11,000 Paid actors: ≈15 actors x ≈$14/hr x ≈7hr/day x 122 days ≈ $179,340
Airport advertising screens: ≈$4,000 per 4 weeks x 4 ≈ $16,000 Billboard advertising: ≈$1,000/month (rural) + ≈$10,000/month (city) x 4 months each ≈ $44,000 Bus wrapping: ≈$12,000/month x 4 months ≈ $48,000 Postcard mailing list: ≈$0.15/name x ≈ 400,000 married ≈ $60,000
Total costs:
Cost to break even:
≈ $549,411
$10/entry / $549,411 ≈ 54,942 attendees