We did a lot of research! Anthropologists worked with the exhibit development team to obtain and develop the information presented in this exhibit by using the following types of research methods.

We did ethnographic research. In order to gain a thorough understanding of cultural patterns, anthropologists systematically gather detailed information about the daily lives of the members of the cultures they are studying, which sometimes includes their own. The anthropologist uncovers and analyzes cultural patterns through qualitative ethnographic techniques of participant observation and open-ended interviews.

The curators of the Department of Anthropology at The Field Museum are cultural anthropologists and archaeologists, and they contributed their ethnographic experience to the development of the exhibit content.

The curator of the exhibit is an urban anthropologist. Urban anthropologists are sociocultural anthropologists who study the city's cultural patterns and how they change. Analyzing the city as a sociocultural phenomenon has become more important for anthropologists on the eve of the 21st century, due to the increasing complexity of urban society and the development of the "global village." The curator acted as the exhibit's content specialist and lent her research experience and anthropological expertise to direct the exhibit's information and how it was to be portrayed.

We talked with Chicago. The Museum convened an advisory panel of 26 Chicago residents to work with the exhibit team to explore effective ways to communicate the exhibit's cultural understanding agenda to a broad audience. Members of the panel were viewed as "community liaisons," who communicated perspectives that helped the team develop the exhibit and related programs that are culturally appropriate and relevant to contemporary concerns. The panel members represented education and business communities, social and human services organizations, neighborhood and citywide agencies, and the religious community.

We conducted ethnographic interviews with the Chicago residents who are featured in the exhibit. We prepared open-ended questions to ask them about their connections to COMMUNITY, as well as to HOME and IMAGE. Visit The Field Museum to learn about their connections to COMMUNITY, HOME and IMAGE.

We worked with other scholars. The Museum expanded its own scholarly resource base by bringing Chicago area anthropologists and historians into the exhibit development process to contribute to the definition and enrichment of the exhibit content.

We did bibliographic research, which we used to investigate anthropologists' many findings through reading books and journals about their work. We also used bibliographic research to find out a multitude of facts about the many cultures represented in the exhibit.

Creating this exhibit took a team effort! The curators worked with the exhibit developers and the rest of the exhibit team to bring the content of the exhibit to Museum visitors.

Exhibit developers worked to turn the exhibit content into the components of the exhibit which the visitors see and learn from. The developers are creative translators who make the scientific information on which the exhibit is based more easily accessible to the general public through a variety of media, including exhibit labels and artifacts.

Exhibit designers created the space in which the exhibit is located. They worked closely with the exhibit developer and graphic designer to illustrate the flow of the developed exhibit content in 3-dimensional design using space, color, texture, light and graphics.

Graphic artists gave expression to the voice of the exhibit through graphics and color. They worked closely with the 3-D designer to establish the tone of the exhibit and give it dimension, texture and expression, so that it is easy to read and follow.

The production team made the exhibit design a reality. They used carpentry, mountmaking, replication, and painting, among other techniques, to build and install the spatial components of the exhibit.

The project manager kept track of the exhibit's budget and organized the development team.

The Education Department created opportunities for formal and informal educators, as well as the public, to provide feedback during the development and design process of the exhibit. They developed public programs and educational materials to bring multi-layered experiences to visitors.

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