After a long winter, it looks like spring is finally here. What better way to celebrate than by visiting Smithsonian Gardens? Smithsonian Gardens creates and manages the Smithsonian’s outdoor gardens, interiorscapes, and horticulture-related collections and exhibits. It is a “museum without walls” and one of the few gardens to be accredited by the American Alliance of …
The FBI Tour, Revisited (or, “… that’s not the Smithsonian.”)
“So, what are you working on?” It’s a pretty common question when you work at Smithsonian Exhibits. Usually, the answer is something like “A great show at the Hirshhorn!” or “We just kicked off a new project with the Zoo!” When I told my friends that I was working on a new section about multi-agency …
A Career of Making Models at the Smithsonian
By Lora Collins, 3D Studio Supervisor at Smithsonian Exhibits When I was just ten years old, my mother and I were admiring the beautiful dioramas at the National Museum of Natural History when she told me that I could make dioramas one day. I forgot about that until I was well out of art school …
Building on Past Successes
Experimentation and curiosity come with the territory when it comes to design. Past work tends to influence current projects. Luckily for us, our Smithsonian Exhibits colleagues come from a wide variety of backgrounds with an incredible range of professional experiences. These experiences add up: as we move through our careers each project adds a little …
Small Artifacts, Big Story
Sometimes small artifacts can have outsized meanings. Take the dog tags in the National Museum of American History’s (NMAH) new exhibit Many Voices, One Nation, which explores how the many voices of people in America have shaped our nation. The dog tags belonged to men and women of different ethnicities and faiths who served in …
Anything But A Normal Internship
by Guest Blogger/Intern Rachael Shurberg This summer, SIE hosted six interns throughout our departments. We had Shivani, Elisa, and Keegan in the 3D Studio; Chad in Graphics; Marcella in Design; and me, Rachael, working in Marketing. I’m currently a rising junior at Ithaca College where I am double majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications and Anthropology. …
Please Touch!
Have you ever visited a museum and seen a sign that says, “Do not touch”? Sometimes museums have a reputation for being hands-off places, but we seek to change that. Smithsonian Exhibits (SIE) specializes in creating 3D tactile versions of artifacts. These durable replicas allow visitors to get up close and personal with priceless objects, …
Consulting in Armenia
SIE’s Chief of Design, Eric Christiansen, recently traveled to Armenia as part of the My Armenia program. My Armenia The My Armenia program is a four-year joint project between the United States Aid for International Development (USAID), the Smithsonian Institution (SI), and the government of Armenia. It is designed to elevate the quality of …
Building Infinity
Without a doubt the Hirshhorn’s Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors exhibit is a bona fide hit. Lines are wrapping around their cylindrical building and people are snatching up the free passes as soon as they are released. Smithsonian Exhibits is proud to have played a part in creating this blockbuster. SIE constructed the infinity …
Helping Artists Find Their Own Words
Have you ever wondered who writes the words that appear in labels and exhibit text? Here at Smithsonian Exhibits, we have writers that specialize in exhibits. Our in-house exhibit developers and writers (including yours truly) also get to create other exhibit-related texts, such as Interpretive Master Plans, exhibition development documents, or content outlines. Additionally, there’s …