Everyone is really busy here at the Office of Exhibits Central. This September, all four shops plus our offices are moving for the first time in 30 years! During June and July, we are finishing several projects, so that we can pack tools and offices, archive old files, and move materials and heavy equipment in …
Interview with Robert Perantoni, OEC Exhibits Specialist in Fabrication
Q: Can you describe what you do here at OEC? A: When I first started at OEC, I was an exhibits specialist for years on the bench. I built display cases, ran moldings, and occasionally helped with crating. Over the years, I acquired administrative duties and after a series of leadership changes, I became the …
Journeying with Journey Stories
The process of creating Journey Stories has been a journey in itself. The traveling exhibit, in development since October 2006, will hit the road in 2009 in Illinois, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. OEC is producing this exhibition for Museum on Main Street (MoMS), a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) …
The Art of African Exploration
Starting in December 2008 visitors to the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) get the chance to view rare illustrated books highlighting European explorations of Africa in the 1800s. The Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL), through a donation from the Folger Foundation, is building and installing two exhibition cases in NMNH’s lobby that will showcase the …
Interview with Janette Pitts, OEC Management Service Specialist
Q: What exactly does a management service specialist do? A: Another way of describing my position would be an “administrative officer” or “office manager.” Basically, I manage the office. Q: What kinds of responsibilities does managing an office include? A: I process personnel actions such as hiring and terminating staff, updating staff personnel files, writing …
Developing a Greek Currency Exhibit
Classically Greek: Coins and Bank Notes from Antiquity to Today, the newest exhibit in the Smithsonian Castle, gives insight into the development of the history of Greece through the images on its currency. The objects used in this exhibit come from the National Bank of Greece and the Welfare Foundation for Social and Cultural Affairs …
SI Community Art
Smithsonian Institution employees are used to working behind-the-scenes, but they have a chance to show off their own artwork to the public at Artists at Work: The Smithsonian Community Art Show 2008. The exhibit opened on March 27 and will be on display through May 18 at the S. Dillon Ripley Center Concourse. Over 170 …
Interview with Harry Adams, OEC Specialist in Artifact and Exhibit Packing
Q: What do you do here at OEC? A: I make sure that the various parts of exhibits, including artifacts, are packed safely and securely. I design, layout, and build the crates that will be used to pack exhibits for travel. Q: Have you had a favorite project so far? A: I once had to …
Crating Elements
The exhibitions that OEC designs and produces need to arrive at their destinations safely. This is especially crucial with traveling exhibits, like the ones we make for the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), because these objects are handled more frequently than those in permanent exhibits. SITES registrars Ruth Trevarrow, Cheryl Washer, and Juana Dahlan …
Orchid Conceptualization
Elegant Evolution. Orchids through Time. New Finds: Ancient Orchids. Darwin’s Orchids. These are all proposed titles for Horticulture Services Division’s orchid exhibition, opening in January 2009 in the special exhibits gallery at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH). NMNH’s Department of Botany is working with Horticulture to craft an exhibit that displays both the …