UMD Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3

New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.museum

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Connecting the Past, Contextualizing the Present, Constructing the Future: Bladensburg Interpretive Center
    (2010) Fischer, David; Kelly, Brian; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis proposes to investigate how the built environment can mediate the past, present, and future. By creating a narrative path through history and community, this design will show how the built environment can connect a place throughout time, help a community value what has created today and focus on what will create a better tomorrow This thesis will address these issues through the lens of a War of 1812 Bicentennial Interpretive Center located in Bladensburg, Maryland. Although the town witnessed one of the most momentous battles in American history, and is among the oldest municipalities in the region, modern Bladensburg under-utilizes its significant historic capital. Additionally, in-sensitive responses to environmental and regional transportation issues have torn through the city, dividing many of the potential amenities from Bladensburg citizens and stifling any hopes of commercial development
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT MOTIVATION IN THE VISUAL ARTS USING HIP HOP CULTURE, AN ART SHOW, AND GRAFFITI
    (2009) Jenkins, Stephanie Conley; Hendricks, Susan; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This participatory action research study explored the development of student motivation in the visual arts using hip hop culture. Six adolescent middle school students from a Washington, DC, public charter school were studied. They participated in an after-school art club centered on the National Portrait Gallery's "Recognize: Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture" special exhibition. The subjects were interviewed before and after visiting the museum and creating their own graffiti self-portraits. The self-portraits were displayed in an art exhibit at the school along with their artist statements. The interviews, statements and field notes were analyzed using the coding method. The results showed that feelings of competence, adequate support, autonomy, authentic purpose and personal connections to hip hop culture and musical artists all increased student motivation to participate in the visual arts. Motivation decreased when students attempted to create `real' looking graffiti, consistent with existing research.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Port of Baltimore, Point of Entry: The Baltimore Immigration Museum and Resource Center
    (2008-05-27) Glassmire, Karilyn Ann; Bowden, Gary; Architecture; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    From 1880 until the 1920's, approximately two million immigrants arrived in America through the Port of Baltimore. This thesis explores how architecture can be used to celebrate immigrants, past and present, through the design of a waterfront immigration museum and resource center. This museum and resource center serve to honor the immigrants who settled in or passed through Baltimore and bring awareness to the city's role as a major port of entry. The building also serves to celebrate the resulting ethnic and racial diversity that remains the city's legacy by telling the story of how Baltimore came to be the ethnic melting pot it is today and by providing a variety of services for contemporary immigrants. The building is situated in Fell's Point, between the Bond Street Wharf and the Frederick Douglass Isaac Myers Museum. The memorial is located across the harbor, visually connected to the museum and resource center.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    An Assessment of the Use of Flame Retardant Plastics for Museum Applications
    (2007-12-18) Leikach, Danielle Caryn; Mowrer, Frederick; Brostoff, Lynn; Fire Protection Engineering; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Halogenated flame retardant plastic sheeting may help to reduce flame spread in museums; however, the plastics contain chemicals that may be harmful to museum objects in situ, particularly metals. This study assesses historical and contemporary problems and benefits associated with flame retardant plastics with respect to museum applications. This issue was addressed by pairing statistical data on museum fires with standard and novel methods for assessing corrosivity, while also creating a format for future assessments of fire-safety related practices as they are applied in museum settings. Flame retardant plastics were found to cause small rates of corrosion in copper, approximately 1.2 milli-inches per year (mpy), compared to pure polyethylene which corrodes at approximately 0.83 mpy. Conventional testing methods show that flame retardant plastics can be considered safe for limited museum use and that they delay ignition from small heat sources, but they must be assessed for each individual scenario.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The Museum of the City of Seattle
    (2004-05-17) Shaklee, Brian Christopher; Schumacher, Thomas; Architecture
    This thesis proposes to examine the urban restoration of a neglected and underutilized area of downtown Seattle, that being the parking garage bound by the intersections of Second Avenue, Yesler Way, and James Street, adjacent to the Pioneer Square Historic District. This urban restoration will take place in the design of a new museum dedicated to the history of Seattle. This design would also incorporate new spaces for the Seattle Underground Tour, currently conducted from the nearby Pioneer Building. In addition to providing a cultural resource for the city, this concept will provide outdoor space for use by the public and will restore a piece of the urban fabric that was destroyed in the 1960's urban movement. This site was the original location of the Seattle Hotel, a building that was demolished and converted into its present-day form, much to the chagrin of city preservationists.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Regenerative Place-Making at Benning Road Metro Station: Architecture as a Determinant of Identity in the 21st Century
    (2004-05-20) Way, Michael A.; Bowden, Gary; Sachs, Stephen F; Architecture
    Where "placelessness" occurs, inhabitants' potential for finding an existential foothold is compromised. Residents' identities are existentially dispossessed. The effect of such dispossession generates a spectrum of unfavorable behavior patterns, ranging from apathetic malaise to criminal activity. "Regenerative Place-Making" will explore design in a viable but overlooked urban environment. Located near a Metro Station at East Capitol Street and Benning Road, the site is the geographic center of Eastern Washington and is a potential gateway intersection for the district. The urban design will investigate exterior space issues, mixture of uses, and transit-oriented development as stimulus for surrounding neighborhoods. The architectural design will address creation of a landmark, to set character and programmatically anchor the intervention. Character will be rationalized by mnemonic and tectonic aesthetics. Approached holistically, "Regenerative Place-Making" can revitalize neighborhoods, individual identities, and community pride, all of which can reduce crime and raise the median quality of life.