Background Information

Figure 1: Fort Hancock, NJ welcome sign.

Figure 2: Buildings on Officer's Row on Fort Hancock,
NJ falling apart.

On historic Fort Hancock, New Jersey, students of the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST) proposed to exhibit information about the relationship between art and science and how they have influenced each other throughout history. Lieutenant Quarters #3, a former house for military officers in World War II when the fort was active, is deteriorating to hazardous conditions along with similar buildings along Officer’s Row on Fort Hancock. The building has been uninhabitable for years, but is now undergoing restoration. Student Architect Michaela Altland is planning to restore the house to its original conditions and preserving the historic building’s exterior, but are re-purposing the interior for present-day use.

Figure 3: Visitor tour the lighthouse, one of the
many iconic landmarks on Sandy Hook.

Figure 4: Students of the Marine Academy of Science and
Technology propose to exhibit research about the relationship
between art and science.

Figure 5: Current disrepair within buildings on
Officer's Row.

Figure 6: James J. Howard Marine Sciences
Laboratory on Sandy Hook.

Figure 7: The Sandy Hook lighthouse museum gives
tours to visitors, such as this one led by National Park Service
historian Tom Hoffman.

Sandy Hook, the narrow strip of land in the Highlands that houses Fort Hancock, is also a popular vacation spot for families and tourists who come to relax on the many beaches and tour the historical batteries and buildings within the fort. Although popular in the summer, Sandy Hook also has a constant year-round population, which consists of high school students of the Marine Academy of Science and Technology and preschool students of the Sandy Hook Child Care Center, scientists of the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory (shared by NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and the State of New Jersey), park rangers, historians, volunteers at Clean Ocean Action (who conduct beach sweeps on Sandy Hook) and locals of all ages.  The product of this variety in the population of visitors is that Sandy Hook is an opportune location for education. Rich in history, Sandy Hook often draws in crowds of all ages and backgrounds who come to learn more about its fascinating history. 

Figure 8: Sandy Hook is a popular recreation area,
especially in the summer.

Figure 9: Sandy Hook is a popular beach spot for locals
and vacationers in the summer.

Figure 10: In addition to MAST, Sandy Hook is home to a
preschool, the Sandy Hook Child Care Center.

Figure 11: The History House, one of the museums
that currently exists on Sandy Hook.

Because of its fascinating history and iconic landmarks, Sandy Hook attracts visitors with interest in learning. The relationship between art and science is a somewhat obscure topic that is not currently covered in many museums. The museums currently existing on Sandy Hook are the History House and the Lighthouse Museum (the Fort Hancock Museum is closed), both of which limit their focuses to history.  Furthermore, the students of MAST proposing to create an Art-Science museum hope to increase an interest in art as well as prove a connection between the arts and the sciences among

Figure 13: The Fort Hancock Museum, a now-closed museum
on Sandy Hook.

their local community at MAST, a school whose primary focus is in scientific studies. Lieutenant Quarters #3 has potential to be re-purposed as an Art-Science museum because of its position among educational and research institutions as well as its variety and consistency of visitors.

Figure 12: Sandy Hook Lighthouse
Museum, one of the museums that
currently exists on Sandy Hook.

Figure 14: MAST students do research aboard the
 R/V Blue Sea. The MAST curriculum emphasizes STEM
subjects, especially science.

Figure 15: Students hope to encourage both appreciation of the arts and of
the sciences in their local community on Sandy Hook by highlighting the
relationship between the two, and their influences on each other
throughout history and today.

Figure 17: Sandy Hook is a popular spot
for families for recreational activities,
such as fishing, and for relaxing on
the many beaches.

Figure 16: Families come to Sandy
Hook to clean the beaches with Clean
Ocean Action .

The people involved in the construction of an Art-Science museum in the newly renovated Lt. Quarters #3 are those individuals and groups of the year-round population of Sandy Hook, such as the students of MAST and the local pre-school and working scientists, as well as the vacationers to Sandy Hook in the summer. MAST also runs a camp for middle-school age children, who attend to learn about marine biology on the surrounding beaches and marshes as well as on the MAST campus. Families often visit Sandy Hook throughout the year for both educational and recreational activities. Sandy Hook also draws in individuals who volunteer with Clean Ocean Action doing beach sweeps. Throughout the year, local individuals visit to walk, run, and bike along the paths and beaches.

            The stakeholders involved in the Art-Science museum include those who will invest in and run the museum, which will most likely be private investors and owners. National Park Service’s recent request for potential ways to repurpose the deteriorating buildings on Fort Hancock mentioned private investors as one type of client who might have interest in repurposing one or more buildings, and the museum strays from the strictly historical topics that might interest the Park Service as investors, so private investors would be the most probably stakeholder in the museum. The people involved from the audience standpoint are mainly children from preschool-age to middle school-age. Schools for children of these age ranges are most common in the area surrounding Sandy Hook, and the museum presents opportunities for collaboration with educational institutions for educational programs, such as field trips. Sandy Hook also holds appeal for families due to the current historical attractions and recreational activities, so the target audience of children will be fulfilled through both the recreational aspects and the educational aspects of the museum’s appeal.

Figure 18: Programs and activities such as this, the Stars Challenge (a summer camp MAST hosts for middle school children), make Sandy Hook an attractive location for families and children to visit.

Figure 19: Many individuals visit Sandy Hook for recreation
during the summer throughout the year.

Figure 20: Scientists at the NOAA lab on Sandy Hook

Figure 21: The solution should reflect
the historical aspects of Sandy
Hook, including its military history.

The exhibits within the museum should reflect the atmosphere of science, research, and progress that its location, Sandy Hook, engenders as a place of scientific research. The solution, which will include some background information about the history of Fort Hancock, should also incorporate characteristics of this unique location in an inactive military base through the design in the exhibits. The solution should also evoke a mood of intellectual inspiration within users to reflect the stimulating topics of art and science, the topic of the exhibitions. The relationship between art and science that the exhibits discuss merges contrasting subjects, so the solution should feel unified to the users. 

Figure 22: The solution should evoke an atmosphere of
involvement with nature, as Sandy Hook's natural
beauty is one of the attractions that brings visitors.

Figure 23: The solution should evoke a mood of intellectual
curiosity, education, and progress, similar to that which one
experiences in educational institutions, especially
universities. (Pictured: Yale University.)

Figure 24: The solution should reflect an atmosphere of
appreciation and admiration, like that which one experiences
in a museum, but also should reflect an atmosphere of
nature and the outdoors. Pictured are the Grounds for Sculpture,
an outdoor sculpture garden that combines these two elements.

Figure 25: The solution should evoke a mood of scientific
progress and curiosity, similar to that which one experiences
in a laboratory, such as the NOAA lab pictured here.

Figure 26: Murals communicate ideas and messages visually.
For example, this mural tells a story about Elmer Kelton.

Exhibits’ primary purposes are to involve users in the learning process to educate them in topics. The methods that exhibits use to educate users vary, as they aim to appeal to auditory learners, visual learners, and hands-on learners. Books, articles, magazines, and websites are examples of basic products that aim to educate users visually. Some other examples of products that communicate messages or ideas visually include forms of artwork (including stained glass-windows, murals and graffiti, illustrations, etcetera), diagrams, graphs, and signs, among many others. Auditory communication can occur as one-way communication (such as while listening to a speech, recording, CD-ROM, announcement, or lecture) or as two-way communication (such as while having a conversation, using interactive auditory technology, as with an automated telephone voice, or while asking questions and having them answered). Beyond speech communication, auditory communication might also consist of vocal music, instrumental music, or alarms and tones, among other forms. Finally, interactive communication of ideas occurs through many products, especially in current digital technology, including computers and televisions, smart phones, and tablets.

Figure 28: Lectures and speeches are forms of educating users
through auditory communication.

Figure 27: A stained glass window is
another product which communicates
visually. Often, as with this window,
they tell stories.

Figure 28: An example of a product that communicates
and educates is a CD-ROM, which might contain
music or audio recordings of speech.

Figure 30: Many modern products of technology, including tablets
(like the one pictured above), smart phones, and computers, rely on
educating the use through interactive learning, which draws on the
sense of touch,

MAST students are proposing to use the historical building on Officer’s Row on Fort Hancock, Lieutenant Quarters #3, to exhibit information about the relationship between art and science. The students must find a solution to the problem of exhibiting their research so that it appeals to the target crowd of stakeholders who would use the museum, which includes those who work and attend school on Sandy Hook, vacationers who visit Sandy Hook during the summer, and families and local individuals who visit Sandy Hook year-round. The solution must successfully communicate the students’ research to the target crowd as well as engage the visitors in the historical aspects of the building which will house the solution, Lieutenant Quarters #3. The buildings of Officer’s Row, including Lieutenant Quarters #3, are currently deteriorating, and since October 2013, the National Park Service has considered restoring and repurposing the buildings (De Poto 6). Student architect Michaela Altland is currently producing plans to renovate the building.

The solution to this problem of effectively, efficiently, and attractively exhibiting student research on the relationship between art and science might require various methods of educating and engaging users. Various methods of completing this task might draw on different senses, such as visual methods, auditory methods, and hands-on methods. The content of the solution might need to be written, formatted, and focused such that it appeals to the specific crowd that Sandy Hook attracts. A solution to this problem must be determined so that the target crowd will benefit from the renovated building (which currently serves no use to the public for recreational, educational, or historical appreciation in its deteriorating state, as the hazardous conditions prevent users from accessing it) and have a greater understanding of the relationship between art and science, and so that the opportunities for education among locals and visitors of Sandy Hook might increase.