Smithsonian Magazine just posted an article on their blog about the work OEC is doing with 3D printing.Check it out A 3D Printer Goes to Work For the Smithsonian.
November 04, 2011
September 14, 2011
Secretary Clough Comes to OEC
Secretary Wayne Clough paid a visit to OEC last week to view the production process of the latest Museum on Main Street exhibit: The Way We Worked. The exhibit was developed by MoMS and is based on a collection of photographs from the National Archives. The Way We Worked takes a close look at the important role work plays in American lives and how our workforce has changed over time. Five copies of the exhibit were produced at OEC and began shipping out to small towns across America at the end of August.
Being from a small town himself, the Secretary spoke about how important cultural programing like traveling exhibitions are for rural Americans. He also mentioned how impressed he was with OEC’s handiwork. It was a pleasure to share our work with the Secretary and an exciting way to wrap up the production of another terrific MoMS exhibit.
Robbie Davis of MoMS assembles TWWW in preparation for the Secretary's visit.
Secretary Clough viewing TWWW.
Secretary Clough poses for a photo at the entrance of TWWW.
Secretary Clough talking with modelmakers Jon Zastrow and Danny Feilding about the fabrication process of TWWW.
May 02, 2011
We're Famous
Check out the write up we got on MAKE:
Geek Field Trip Report! Smithsonian Office of Exhibits Central
March 22, 2011
Milkweed Plant
Recently, modelmaker Danny Fielding and intern Jessica Western helped make the milkweed bugs at the National Museum of Natural History’s Insect Zoo feel a little more at home. Danny and Jessica used their collective expertise to create faux milkweed plants for placement in the bug’s cages to simulate their natural habitat in the offseason when the real plants are unavailable.
To create the lifelike plant models, they combined processes of molding and casting parts of real plants as well as direct build-up using steel, epoxy putty, cotton and glue, and other materials.
For example, Danny made plaster molds of real milkweed leaves, then vac-u-formed thin sheets of plastic onto the molds conforming the plastic to shape. To create the milkweed flower he assembled clusters of buds individually from casts of real buds. Jessica built up tapered leaf stems from wire rolled with cotton batting and glue. Jessica also hand applied hundreds of “spines” one-by one to casts of pods. Plant stems were sculpted out of epoxy putty over a steel armature. Finally all the parts were arranged, assembled to shape, and airbrushed by Danny and hand-distressed by Jessica matching the colors and character of the real plants with incredible attention to detail.
The milkweed plant models are alternately on display (and covered with bugs!) at the Insect Zoo located in the National Museum of Natural History.
Modelmaker Danny Fielding examining his work
A plaster mold, leaf stem, unpainted leaf, and painted leaf
Jessica Western hand painting natural details on the milkweed plant
The milkweed plant installed in NMNH's insect zoo
A Milkweed bug enjoying it's new plant
March 11, 2011
The Way We Work
The traveling exhibit The Way We Work is in full swing at OEC. The exhibit was developed by Museums on Main Street and is based on a photo show done by the National Archives. Five copies will be produced and travel to small towns across the United States telling the story of how, why and where Americans work. The entire production process will require the help of every OEC department and include graphic design, exhibit detailing, large format printing, crating, model making, and much more.
Museums on Main Street employee Terri Cobb labeling graphic panels which make up the foundation of the show.
Graphic panels awaiting lamination
Graphic specialist Theresa Dahlman executing the printing of graphic panels
Model maker Danny Fielding creating molds of hats which will become interactive element
March 03, 2011
March 01, 2011
Uncle Beazley Has Arrived
Last Wednesday OEC welcomed a life sized fiberglass triceratops to our place of work. This dino, Uncle Beazley, currently resides at the National Zoo but will be our guest for the next few weeks.
Uncle Beazley has been in need of periodic upkeep and repairs over the many years he’s belonged to SI, and the OEC model shop has been the primary provider of these services. Instead of just patching him up again and working outside as we have always done, we wanted to utilize the new space we have here at Pennsy Drive and do a more thorough refurbishing of this dear old fiberglass beast. With LOTS of coordination and support from transportation, horticulture, the Zoo and building services, we managed to bring him over to Pennsy last week.
After he was thoroughly power washed and cleaned, we brought him into the building, which was very tricky because at 27 feet long, 9 feet wide and 9 feet high, he is at the upper limits of size for moving him around and through the hallways! Now that he is in our shop we are patching holes and cracks and we will soon apply an entirely new coat of UV and weather resistant paint. We’ll refer to early photos of him to try to match what he originally looked like. We hope to have repairs done and Uncle Beazley ready for return to the Zoo by mid March. Carolyn Thome is the model maker responsible for doing this work; and many, many others have helped make this possible!
February 24, 2011
Old School to New School
Our very own Carolyn Thome will be giving a presentation at the National Museum of Natural History tomorrow. She will be talking about the various techniques used to recreate artifacts including casting and 3D printing. Don't miss it!
October 28, 2010
Office of the Chief Information Officer wall mural
A computer-rendered image of the Smithsonian Castle is the centerpiece of a coloful new wall mural at the main entrance to OCIO's offices in Herndon, Virginia. A recent collaboration between the Office of Exhibits Central (OEC) and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), the design consists of a 4' x 8' silhouette of the Castle made up of small "0's" and "1's" representing binary computer code, which is mounted to the entryway wall. Beneath the Castle are two rows of images of the many Smithsonian buildings, emphasizing the fact that OCIO works with all of the museums and bureaus of the Institution.
The production of the Castle silhouette was an especially interesting part of the project. "The "0's" and "1's" were computer-cut into a very large piece of pressure-sensitive vinyl in the Graphics Shop at OEC. All of the vinyl surrounding the characters was then removed, leaving only the "0's" and "1's" on the vinyl's backing sheet, in the shape of the Castle. A large piece of release-tape, which was the same size as the backing sheet and coated with strong adhesive, was pressed onto the "0's" and "1's", which transferred the adhesive from the tape onto the backs of the characters. This sandwich--comprised of release-tape, vinyl, and backing sheet--was then delivered to OCIO for installation.
Design drawing for the entrance exhibit for the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
In order to ensure that the Castle silhouette would be applied to a smooth surface, OEC's painter, Walter Skinner, first primed and painted the entryway wall at OCIO. Next, OEC's Graphics Specialists, Rolando Mayen and Theresa Keefe--who designed the exhibit--carefully applied the vinyl. They temporarily hinged the backing sheet to the wall exactly where they wanted the Castle silhouette to be positioned. They removed the protective layer on the release-tape, which exposed the adhesive that had been transferred to the backs of the characters, and firmly pressed the "0's" and "1's" onto the wall to ensure that the characters were securely mounted. Lastly, they removed the backing sheet, revealing the silhouette.
Once that was completed, Mayen and Keefe installed the two rows of images of the Smithsonian buildings, each of which is face-mounted to a piece of Plexiglas. Finally, they applied the Smithsonian sunburst, and the name of the office in large vinyl letters, on the wall to the upper left of the Castle.
According to OEC's installation team, it was very exciting and gratifying to watch the two-dimensional design drawing come to life as it was being installed. The muted Castle silhouette is balanced by the vibrant images of the Institution's buildings, and the exhibit, itself, is a clear representation of the rich diversity that makes up the Smithsonian.
August 31, 2010
"Page Turners" in Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn
Pop-Up mechanisms--which allow certain elements to pop up from the surface of a book page--are just some of the paper construction types highlighted in the Smithsonian Institution Libraries' (SIL) exhibit, "Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn," on view in SIL's gallery at the National Museum of American History (NMAH). The exhibit, described on the Office of Exhibits Central's (OEC) website in June 2010, includes 44 books that range in date from the mid-16th to the early 21st centuries, creating an intriguing retrospective of volumes, which were designed and constructed with parts that move.
Selected by Stephen Van Dyk, the exhibition curator and Librarian at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, the books are divided into four primary categories according to each one's paper construction type, as well as the mechanisms employed. The groups consist of Movables; Pop-Ups; Folding Mechanisms; and Fantastic forms or "Multiple Constructions." Examples of mechanisms contained in two of these categories--Pop-Ups and Multiple Constructions--can be activated by visitors to the gallery thanks to a clever page-turning device, loaned to the Libraries by Ann Montanaro, President of the Movable Book Society. Originally constructed by Waldo Hunt, publisher and founder of InterVisual Books, it was used as a prototype by OEC's model shop to construct the page turners that are on display in the exhibit. Wow! The Pop-Up Book of Sports and The Pop-Up Book of Phobias, donated to the exhibition by Susan R. Frampton, are connected to the devices, and allow viewers to see the paper engineering mechanisms at work, at the push of a button.
The exhibit's page-turning devices are activated by push buttons
A windshield wiper-like arm has a small fork at the end which captures the page and holds it in place. The arm is connected to a low-powered synchronous timing motor that is concealed inside the pedestal on which the device sits, which moves the arm back and forth; as the arm moves, the page follows along with it. By the time the arm has completed its trip from right to left, the previous page has been turned, and a new page has been revealed; the arm then moves in the opposite direction so that the previous page is visible once more. The cycle is slow enough that visitors can watch the book's moving parts with ease, as they open and close.
Wow!: The Pop-Up Book of Sports on the left,
and The Pop-Up Book of Phobias on the right, are connected to the
page-turning devices
"From studying the Libraries' page turner, I had a good idea of how I wanted to construct the device for the 'Paper Engineering' exhibit," said OEC model maker Jon Zastrow. "A low voltage push button activates a relay, and turns the 120V timing motor to the 'on' position. The page turner arm swings through its cycle. A micro switch opens the circuit, turning off the motor each time the arm reaches its 'home' position, until the button is pushed again, thereby conserving energy." The fabric-covered pedestal on which the page turner sits, has a slot cut into it to provide a free range of motion for the device's arm as it moves back and forth. The device, itself, is constructed of molded plexiglas which serves as a book cradle.
Visitors to the gallery watch the page-turning devices in action
The exacting design and engineering of the various book elements, allow authors to create an infinite number of variations--at all levels of complexity--which work together successfully. The page turners help viewers see how the mechanisms function, and how the various elements connect to one another. Due to the great popularity of "Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn," the page turners have already completed thousands of revolutions. They will, no doubt, continue to delight visitors for thousands more revolutions to come.
Background information on the books and collections is from Stephen Van Dyk, Library Director, at the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York.
Wow!: The Pop-Up Book of Sports by Sara Braunstein and Jennifer Altavilla, with paper engineering by Bruce Foster, was published by Time Books in 2009; The Pop-Up Book of Phobias by Gary Greenberg, with paper engineering by Matthew Reinhart, was published by Rob Weisbach Books in 1999.
