On November 16, 2006, the Smithsonian Community Committee (SCC) sponsored a behind-the-scenes tour for SI staff to see the work that the Office of Exhibits Central (OEC) is doing for Horticulture Services’ upcoming exhibit, Orchids: Take a Walk on the Wild Side, which opens January 27, 2007, in the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH).

An intrepid group of about 30 employees from around the Institution braved the rainstorm to learn about how OEC’s modelmakers are creating foam tree trunks, a wooden walkway, and the didactic panels for the show. Staff also saw a variety of other projects underway, such as New Harmonies for the Museum on Main Street (MoMS), Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service; and America By Air at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM).

photo: Carolyn Thome, modelmaker, discusses how she turns a large column of fire-rated urethane foam into a tropical tree trunk for the Orchids exhibit. Photograph by David Liston, OEC.