On February 22, 1999 Jeff Kennedy Associates presented Memorial with the Design Development Report. Where the Concept Plan of early 1998 created the philosophical framework of HealthWorks! Kids' Museum, and the Schematic Design report created a preliminary floor plan, the task of the Design Development Report was to create the museum's "look and feel". The Design Development Report provided Memorial with exhibit drawings, descriptions and outlines of what each provided in the way of visual, sensory and educational content.

Contractor Bidding & Selection Process

The educational and experiential goals created by the Reach and Teach committee served as a benchmark for exhibits approval. By early March, 1999, Reach and Teach outlined which exhibits would be removed, which needed to become more interactive and several exhibits that raised questions about educational impact. For example, a proposed sensory exhibit using hot and cold pipes was questioned with regards to the safety/injury prevention message it sent to young children.

After Memorial made its recommendations for changes to the Design Development Report to JKA, they were ready to begin to actually build the facility. The first step was to gather information about subcontractors, fabricators and other who would turn the concepts and designs into actual exhibits. Memorial's team would grow even larger with the addition of many contractors and sub-contractors.

The bidding process for HealthWorks! was directed by Jeff Kennedy Associates, Inc. (JKA), and overseen by Memorial project leadership. JKA followed the bidding process recommended by American Institute of Architects (AIA). JKA prepared a set of construction drawings, exhibit descriptions and graphic panel schedules, which are all currently owned by Memorial Health System. These were combined with a set of AIA forms that JKA completed. The AIA forms included a set of "General Conditions" that JKA modified slightly to make work for exhibit fabrication and a set of "Supplementary General Conditions" that Memorial included with all the building contracts. According to Greg Sprick, JKA Inc., "There are dozens of firms in the US that can do this work. A very fair and comprehensive list of fabricators is available from ASTC, AYM and AAM.."

HealthWorks! bid several elements of the project. Exhibits, signage, any lighting external to exhibits and installation were bid as a single lump sum contract. Room lighting, networking and electrical distribution were part of the base building. JKA created the bid specification documents which were very complicated and included four books and a set of drawings. JKA pre-selected bidders for this project based on past performance and experience; availability of space in their shops; past jobs and references. This kind of work in extremely "tricky" to do and must be done by bidders who have the expertise and experience.

The bidding process is of vital importance to the project. The "up-front" job of cost estimating is critical to the long term success of a construction project. JKA admits that they should have done a better job of cost estimating "up-front." Exhibit fabrication has gone up about 50% in the past four years. JKA was caught off-guard by the high price of all the bids and then had to significantly reduce the scope of the project to stay within budget. Hiring a fabricator (not one of the selected bidders) or estimator to perform a reliable cost estimate would be a good idea for a project of this magnitude. It may cost up-front but in the long run it may end up saving valuable time and money.

Greg Sprick from JKA remarked that, "GED really wanted to do this job that really helped move the contract negotiations along smoothly." JKA selected General Exhibit and Display (GED) for the single lump sum contract for exhibits, signage, lighting external to exhibits and installation contractor. The contract negotiation went smoothly because JKA was flexible in meeting the target budget and was able to work with GED to reach that number.

Subsequent issues can cause the fabrication process to slow down, costs to increase and delivery to be impacted.

Contractors & Fabricators

Any organization that has built a facility, or individual who has so much as remodeled a kitchen, understands the importance of reliable and experienced contractors. In creating HealthWorks!, Memorial was doing something much more complex than installing a new counter top. In fact, Memorial was creating something that had never been tried before. All the more reason to have the best, most competent team of professionals and contractors. It was vital to the process that they work through the construction aspects of the project as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Memorial had introduced the community to the fact that they were creating a new kind of children’s health learning center and many were anxious for them to open the doors. The physical act of building this facility was as delicate as it was crucial. Delicate in that they had spent so much time envisioning what this place would be that any shortfalls in its translation to reality would be heartbreaking; crucial in that they had managed to create a public "buzz" for the project and didn't want to lose momentum. There are no quick formulas for construction, the unexpected should be expected.

As several illustrations in previous chapters have shown, elements of the design floor which seemed very simple at times posed complicated questions. Considerations for items like lighting, sound, phone and modem lines and bathroom fixtures also needed to be addressed. The need for a strong project manager and clear, consistent communication between designers, architects and contractors can not be stressed enough. For example, Jeff Kennedy Associates, the design team, needed to be sure that Urban Design, the construction crew, was installing child size equipment in the bathroom facilities. In light of the total project size and the focus on the "fun" aspects of the museum, a detail like this could have been lost in the shuffle without an effective project manager and a responsible design firm.

Memorial needed the expertise of a variety of "builders"- software developers, sound engineers, plumbers, and graphic and interior designers, to name a few. For example, in creating the Skin Crawl Wall climbing exhibit, General Exhibits and Display (GED) was responsible for remodeling a basic climbing wall into a magnified square of human skin. They did not, however, have the expertise to build the wall itself. The construction company handling the building of the interior walls was not able to either, as a safely engineered climbing wall has very specific and precise parameters. GED had to hire The Climber's Edge, a company who’s business is specifically the building of this kind of wall, as a sub-contractor. What would have appeared to be a quick and easy exhibit on the outset required a great deal of coordination to execute.

Coordination became a key element in the building of HealthWorks!, particularly because it was created in a building which was itself under construction. Memorial was deliberate in crafting contracts with their service providers which specified exact delivery dates. The careful manner in which they linked the delivery dates to one another were critical to the construction schedule. Any late deliveries or absent exhibits would cause a domino effect.

Memorial once again found itself facing a learning curve. This is one of the risks of working "outside the box." In the creation of the All About Me! survey/stat stations they discovered an entire world of complicated software questions. At the outset, they thought they were doing something quite simple, specifically, creating a software package for their own use and potential sale to others interested in creating a children’s health center. What they did not expect were the variety of implications this would have. Their system would be built on a platform that they did not own. Did they have the right to sell it? Would selling the package to other museums in some ways obligate the software designers to new clients? Would they be able to serve additional customers? Would they even want to work with clients Memorial had generated and approved? What if they sold the exhibit to another museum and it broke down or there were installation problems? Who would be responsible? The process of creating the All About Me! exhibit provides an excellent model of the process of selecting contractors and designers.

There are many values to entering a project from the outside. In Memorial's case, an institution whose primary concern was running a medical institution was now working to create an interactive children’s center. Memorial, and its supporting committees, were energized by the challenges of this new project. Design firms and fabricators, however, at times had difficulty in understanding the vision. For example, when they asked for an innovative library space, designers (who perceived Memorial as conservative hospital administrators) produced sketches with linear glass shelves that looked like any other boring library room. Memorial had something entirely different and creative in mind which included faux tree trunks to house books, resource materials and computer equipment.

In early April, 1999 the team began discussions with Fablevision, the company who would be creating the kiosk software for the "All About Me!" zone of the exhibit floor. Fablevision had previously developed Story Station, where visitors had answers to a specific question videotaped. For example, while at the kiosk a child would be asked by the voice in the computer monitor to talk about an experience they had with weather. Their answers would be video taped. Participants were then able to review, re-tape or edit their answer before selecting the "Done" or save option. At this point the saved answer became part of the exhibit. Teachers could also request a copy of a videotape compilation of their students’ answers to continue the exhibit experience back in the classroom. Finally, Story Station was equipped to allow students to export their answers on the Internet allowing visitors to share their experience with family and friends from home. The system seemed almost tailor made to Memorial’s vision of creating a personalized record of each child’s visit.

Memorial was completely taken aback when Fablevision began describing their own three sphere model (for evaluation design)- a model virtually identical to Memorial’s own. These spheres were an illustration of the interactions between child (while in the museum), parents and teachers and the wider community. Kathy Jackson remembered, "The first time we spoke with Fablevision, Reg Wagle and I looked at each other and we’re thinking, ‘They’ve seen our stuff!’. We knew right away they were talking about what we were talking about, connecting the experience at the museum with the school and home. The hour [we have with visitors] wouldn’t by itself make that big a difference in their life; but if we connect that, keep the experience going back into the classroom or back into the home, then we could have a much greater impact."

Memorial envisioned stat stations for "All About Me!" that would have visitors answering set questions regarding their own physical characteristics, as well as questions specifically geared to the current curricular lesson being offered. The students would then be given a graphic representation of their profile, complete with picture, that they could carry out with them, back to school, and eventually back home. The system would also compile results from the entire class or group into data helpful to the group learning in the classroom and also back to their own teachers and school. Finally, it would provide core data for the HealthWorks! evaluation protocols. This database would also allow the individual visitors' profile to grow with every return visit to HealthWorks! Kids’ Museum. The "All About Me!" concept accomplishes the following: 1) to provide a infrastructure for integrating the exhibit floor experience with the classroom experience; 2) provide a personalized "take-home" extension of the HealthWorks! experience; and, 3) provide some core data for the evaluation processes.

The research and selection process and subsequent management of each contractor and sub-contractor is very important to the success of any project. The decisions you make here will impact the project from its start and throughout its life. A low bid is only useful if the work produced meets specifications and cost considerations. Be sure to make these decisions carefully.