Month at the Museum

…it's like Night at the Museum, but thirty times better!

The Chicago Museum of Science & Industry is searching for a roommate from over 1,500 entries. The winner gets to live in the museum for thirty days as an experiment, documenting everything all the while. What an amazing, life-altering experience! As if that weren't enough, they get $10,000, tech goodies, and a lifetime membership to MSI. Call me crazy, but I'd take it just for the fun! …until my bills come due, that is.

This is the coolest contest I've ever encountered, and I wanted a piece of it! I applied, of course, and bought the requisite lab coat and goggles. When they announced the semi-finalists, however, I received a well-crafted "It's not you; it's us" email. Sigh. Ah, well. Life moves on. Since I'm out of the running anyhow, I thought I'd post some of my entry materials, since I worked so very hard on them.

The application included:
• a 60-second video (why you should be chosen),
• a 500-word essay (why you want to be chosen),
• the application form itself,
• and a 5" x 7" head shot.

Here's what my folder looked like (front & inside):
I had a blast just putting the whole thing together—it's the first time I've done any kind of branding in a while, and I was pretty proud of my work. I went for a clean orange-on-white look to match their branding for the contest.


The logo on the front of the folder is a white paper cutout that I based on the MATM logo. My DVD (its label was printed on the disk) is in the bottom half of a slimline jewel case that's glued to the folder. I lightly glued my picture to a labeled, folded sheet of paper that was then glued to the folder pocket, and I put my essay in the pocket behind them.


Yaaaay design fun!




And here's my ridiculously dorky video, just for your amusement:


I had a lot of fun putting everything together, and I hope the winner has an absolute blast!

MSI put up a pretty swell Thank-You video that helps show off just how popular this contest was, which was super-cool.
It doesn't hurt that mine is the first picture in the video, either. Squee!!!



Thanks, ChiMSI, for coming up with this awesome opportunity!