Team

Joe Ansel: Principal

While the Exploratorium is now widely acknowledged as an essential wellspring for the interactive science center movement itself, 38 years ago, when Joe Ansel first ventured into the place, the Exploratorium was nearly unknown. Joe worked for almost 20 years at the Exploratorium in three different positions: exhibit designer and builder, fundraiser and assistant director.

Under the quirky, but undoubtedly creative, guidance of Dr. Frank Oppenheimer,
Joe helped to create the “hands on” exhibit genre itself by managing the Exploratorium’s prolific exhibit shop and by inventing and building dozens of exhibits. Additionally, Joe supported most of the early artists that entered the Exploratorium’s Artist in Residence program by helping them design and fabricate their artworks. Joe continues to involve artists in AAI exhibitions to the present day.

In 1981, Joe established a successful in-kind fundraising program at the Exploratorium— all while still building the occasional exhibit.

Joe became an assistant director in 1985. In this role he oversaw aspects of the Exploratorium’s operations and managed many temporary exhibitions. And he still kept a hand in the Exploratorium’s exhibit development programs and fundraising. In addition, Joe created the Exploratorium’s exhibit sales and consulting division to bolster the Exploratorium’s earned income stream.

After developing expertise in exhibits, operations, programs, marketing and management, Joe launched his own, creating Ansel Associates, Inc. (AAI)
in 1992. AAI’s past clients have included governmental entities, municipalities, individual artists, corporations, science centers, museums and two "think tanks"—Xerox PARC and Interval Research Corporation.

As an expert in exhibitions, projects and informal educational centers, Joe most enjoys integrating and balancing a variety of resources to create wonderful new experiences for the visiting public.

Milton McClaskey: Project Director

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, he moved into exhibition design and project management for Academy Studios Inc., developing and building exhibitions for 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 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. As Associate Director at AAI, he worked on phæno, the science center in Wolfsburg Germany. As in previous projects, one of his roles was the creation and ongoing management of the exhibition budget.

Milton worked on the budgeting, scheduling, contracting and management of the exhibit fabricators, and project management of Anchorage Museum in Alaska. He is also heavily involved in the exhibition planning and selection of exhibit content.

He visits science centers throughout Europe and the US to review various approaches to interactive science and seek out new, innovative and engaging exhibits.

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Moe Sati Soloman: Design Director

As the Design Director at AAI, Moe Sati designs and integrates all exhibition elements into a seamless, cohesive and expressive environment.

Moe has over 15 years experience in industrial, environmental and spatial design.
His technical education in industrial design, coupled with his design experience, is aptly augmented by his extensive knowledge of fabrication, prototyping, model making skills and architectural design. Moe’s impressive visualization capabilities and presentation skills allow him to execute projects from the raw idea stage through to implementation and final installation.

Moe was the lead designer, space planner and fabrication supervisor for the Imaginarium project in Anchorage, Alaska. He designed all aspects of the exhibits from the furniture to the exhibits architectural integration. He also choose the materials and finishes for the entirety of the exhibition and directed all graphic
design elements.

Prior to joining the AAI team, he was a senior exhibit designer for the EcoTarium, an environmental science museum in Worcester, MA. While at the Ecotarium, he developed master plans and designs for all of the interactive and traveling exhibits. He also designed interactive exhibits for Denver Science and Space Museum, the San Mateo History Museum and California State Automobile Association.

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Associate Team Members

Gordon Linden

Gordon Linden brings a wealth of experience to Ansel Associates. He has worked with us as part of our evaluation team on several projects, most recently Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria, and on a feasibility study conducted for the University of California at Chico in 2003/4.

Find a link to Gordon Linden's web site on our links page

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