Formerly Exhibit Shop Manager and later an Assistant Director at San Francisco's Exploratorium, Joe Ansel led, and participated in, the invention, design and fabrication of over 125 new, interactive science exhibits from 1972 until 1992. Accordingly he was key to the beginning of the interactive science center movement and in conjunction with others developed an effective system of prototyping and floor testing exhibits. This system evolved into a cornerstone of formal exhibit evaluation--formative and remedial evaluation. Joe's past work contributed substantially to the creation of the interactive exhibit genre itself. Much of Joe’s early work was intensively creative and he supported numerous artists in producing artworks at the Exploratorium and elsewhere. To this day Joe continues to create 3 dimensional designs and renderings for Ansel Associates’ various projects. In the late 1980’s, Joe founded the Exploratorium’s exhibit sales and consulting division and blended his inventive, creative side with his business training and management background. Joe has produced numerous detailed consulting documents and feasibility studies. He has spoken on the topics of exhibition design, exhibit production, exhibit sales, the ethics of intellectual property and architectural issues in science centers in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2004 at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) annual convention and at the 1990 ICOM conference, Mexico City, the 1995 European Collaborative for Science, Industrial Exhibitions (ESCITE) convention held in Cardiff, Wales, the 2004 Theming and Design in Leisure Entertainment (TILE) conference in Masstricht, The Netherlands. Please see our publications page to download and read selected articles by Joe.

Milton combines in-depth design and fabrication experience with formidable scheduling, cost estimating, budgeting and project management experience. As founder of his own firm, Watermark Exhibits, Milton supplied casework and exhibits to major clients such as the Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. In 1994, Milton moved into exhibition design and project management for Academy Studios Inc., developing and building exhibitions for the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Washington State History Museum, The Smithsonian Institution, the Columbus Center and others. In 1997 Milton was hired by Gyroscope Inc, where he successfully managed the 5 million dollar budget for fabrication and installation of exhibits for Exploration Place, a dramatic science center in Wichita, Kansas which opened in April 2000. The exhibitions for Exploration Place were completed on time and under budget by nearly $150,000.  Immediately after this, Milton joined Ansel Associates as Associate Director, and began work on phaeno, the science center Ansel Associates was planning in Wolfsburg Germany.  As in previous projects, his primary role was in cost estimating, the design and management of the overall 14 million dollar (€11,252,000) exhibition budget, and the selection, contracting and management of the exhibit fabricators.  He was also heavily involved in the exhibition design and in the selection of exhibit content, visiting science centers throught out Europe and the US to review the various approaches to interactive science and to seek out new, innovative and engaging exhibits for inclusion in the phaeno exhibitions.  He worked with researchers and exhibit developers in Europe and North America to develop a group of new climate science exhibits specifically for phæno, with the goal of encouraging public understanding of the complexities of climate variablity and climate modeling.  Despite multiple and on-going delays with the building schedule and completion, phæno’s exhibitions were delivered 100% operational and nearly $600,000 below budget.   At opening, phæno’s exhibition contained 253 interactive exhibits and artworks and sets a new standard for science centers in Germany and Europe.