February 12 was a typical morning for most college students in the Jacksonville area, except for a small group in a curatorial practices class led by Jim Draper at the University of North Florida. That morning, Jonathan Duck, a local museum preparator, stormed into the room, and began giving a ninety-minute presentation to the unwitting students on what can only be described as the most mind-numbingly boring part of his job: SketchUp modeling.
Image courtesy of Jim Draper
The students' mouths fell agape as Duck began to rattle off numbers and ideas related to creating three-dimensional models of galleries and exhibitions. He even went one step further and snatched a laptop from a student named Charlie so he could explain how to use SketchUp in depth. Those who weren't immediately put to sleep began to ask questions like “who are you?” and “what are you doing here?” and “why is this important?
Image courtesy of Jim Draper
Thankfully, the pain was short-lived, and Duck quickly wrapped up his presentation before the class ended. At least the students still had some time to learn something that day.