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A woman wearing a face mask sits at a desk and clicks on a mouse.
Bre crops images of the 3D prints.

Meet Our New Interns!

Smithsonian Exhibits is thrilled to welcome two new additions to our team: Bre’Launna Patterson and Victor Garrett who joined us in October for a year-long internship funded by the Smithsonian Institution.

Bre and Vic will be working in SIE’s fabrication, graphics, and 3D studio departments. They will spend two months in each department, learning the ropes. After six months, they will each select one department to spend the rest of their internship in, and will complete a solo project.

Before joining SIE, Bre was a contractor for THEARC Theater, a performing arts venue in Washington, DC, where she worked as a stagehand and master carpenter among other duties. Her goal is to gain skills that she can use to push others and herself as a female entrepreneur in tech, dance, MCing, and other fields. “When I first heard about the Smithsonian Exhibits production shop, I knew it was what I have been preparing for,” said Bre. “I am excited to learn more, especially in the fabrication and 3D print shop.”

Bre is spending her first two months in SIE’s fabrication department and 3D studio. Her first project has been testing the durability of 3D prints made with SIE’s new Mimaki printer to see how they hold up to frequent cleaning with disinfectant solutions. This is critical to determining how Smithsonian museums can provide safe access to tactile exhibition components during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

A woman wearing a face mask sits at a desk and clicks on a mouse.
Bre crops images of the 3D prints.

 

A gloved hand brushes a 3D print of a rainbow with clouds.
Bre cleans a 3D print.

Vic heard about the internship at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, Maryland, where he was working as a theater tech. “It wasn’t until I found theatrical production that I discovered my talent for building, fabrication, and all things ‘hands-on,’” he said.

Vic has fond memories of visiting the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as a kid. “Never in a million years would I have expected to have the opportunity to work and learn from the same institution that captivated me years ago,” said Vic. “I hope to gain advanced, unique, and marketable skills that allow me to pursue my goal of using my building skills to serve my community.”

Vic is spending his first two months in SIE’s graphics department, where he is helping produce COVID-19 safety graphics for Smithsonian museums that are reopening. This is important work that helps keep visitors safe. Vic has already learned several new skills, including laminating, cutting and weeding vinyl, and profiling materials (scanning materials to ensure that the colors are calibrated correctly for printing.)

 

A man wearing a face mask sits next to a machine which is cutting a large print into smaller graphics.
Vic cuts vinyl graphics.

 

A man wearing a face mask stands at a table and pulls the white borders off a series of printed graphics.
Vic removes excess material from graphics in a process known as “weeding.”

 

A man wearing a face mask drags a small handheld scanner across a series of colored thumbnails.
Vic scans materials to test their color accuracy in a process called “profiling.”

 

We will be checking in with Bre and Vic throughout their internships. Please join us in welcoming them to the Smithsonian. We’re glad they’re here!