Many small museums, in an effort to capitalize on the success of larger institutions and fads like the Jurassic Park moment of the early 90s, have made themselves into second-rate imitations. Their displays have a boring sameness, like standardized hotel rooms, rather than the complex accumulation of furnishings one finds in a home.

In a quest to stand out, small museums purchase replicas and displays from the same suppliers, which they lack the resources to update, while larger museums have moved on to new things. Ironically, the small-museum displays end up displacing real specimens. After a couple of decades, hardly anyone remembers anything about the museum's distinctive identity.

"I have a theory, albeit an untested one," said Ceiga, "that one of the ways to lure adults back isn't the latest high-tech gizmo, but rather the old-fashioned, nostalgic stuff that only visitors over a certain age can appreciate. At the academy, we have everything we need to create these kinds of exhibits. It's just waiting in storage."