Joining him were Imagineers Alfredo Ayala, who leads the Research & Development project teams at Walt Disney Imagineering, and Dex Tanksley, a Disney Imagineer and Project Design Manager. They are two of the 75 Imagineers who contributed to Sklar’s most recent book One Little Spark! – Mickey’s Ten Commandments and The Road to Imagineering. All three offered  Imagineering wisdom and advice in telling stories and answering questions from the audience.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the amazing event that are valuable for kids, but really grateful reminders for all ages.

“If you aren’t failing from time to time, you aren’t trying anything new.” – Marty Sklar

Sklar paraphrased this quote from Einstein and explained that to live a creative life, one must lose the fear of being wrong. All three men agreed that this was important, and Ayala even shared that he was charged with creating a way for Tinkerbell to fly all around the castle. The attempts were mind blowing but didn’t quite go as planned. He said that if a project is not successful, he prefers to say “It was an experiment.”

“Exceed expectations.” – Dex Tanskley

He recounted how he won Imaginations, a Disney design competition with some friends from Hampton University and that they focused not on simply satisfying the requirements, but rather on doing as much as they could as creatively as they could. He noted that people with initiative are valued, and he encouraged the kids in attendance to strive to go above and beyond.

“Never stop learning . . . Everything you learn you will use somewhere.” – Marty Sklar

This was the answer to the question asked by an eight-year-old about what she should do in school. They told her to study hard and noted that they each learned something with every single project.

“Bring out the good in people.” – Alfredo Ayala

That was a principle that he held dear in a job and a workplace, and seems to be a good one to have in all areas of life.

“Do your best and people will notice.” – Marty Sklar

One mother said that her son was working at Disney but finding it difficult to move up in the company and asked what advice Sklar would give him. This was his answer. He noted that doing anything less than your best was a disservice to yourself, as well as everyone else.

“See the future as the greatest opportunity.” – Marty Sklar

He said Walt was ridiculously optimistic and he fears that we don’t have enough optimism in the country right now.  A positive outlook can make all the difference and possibility inspires creativity.

A fun bit of Disney trivia for you: The castles at each of the Disney parks are under 190 feet tall because that’s the height at which a blinking red light is needed for aircraft safety. A blinking red light would ruin some of the magic.

Sklar, Ayala, and Tanksley were not the only Imagineers present. Kurt Haunfelner,Vice President of Exhibits and Collections at the MSI, also worked as an Imagineer, so a reminder that these nuggets of Imagineering wisdom and advice, as well as those discussed in Sklar’s book, One Little Spark, can lead to success and fulfillment anywhere.

My whole family was motivated and inspired by these Imagineers, and it was a ton of fun to go explore the MSI after hearing from them. Of course, we love the museum, but we saw it in a new way, with rediscovered appreciation of creativity and exploration, after hearing about their experiences in innovation and design.

You May Also Like: Fun Facts about LEGOs® and the Brick by Brick exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago

Prior Post: Summer Reading Books from Scholastic