Office of Exhibits Central

Time and Navigation and a Dog

When the National Air and Space Museum needed a very special dog,
they turned to OEC’s Model Shop. 

In 1839, Charles Wilkes led the U.S. Exploring Expedition into Antarctic waters, accompanied by a large Newfoundland named Sydney. For the exhibition “Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There,” NASM planned a diorama of Wilkes’s cabin. Naturally they wanted to include Sydney.

NASM asked the Model Shop for a sculpture, to be based on Sir Edwin Landseer’s 1831 dog painting A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society. (Fun fact: This breed of black and white Newfoundland is now called Landseer Newfoundland, after the painting.)

OEC modelmakers began with an armature of wire and Styrofoam. Lora Collins (Model Shop supervisor and chief sculptor) then piled on the clay and sculpted a lifelike, full-scale dog portrait. When the sculpture is done, modelmaker Chris Hollshwander will make a mold of the piece in silicone rubber. The mold will then go to a metal foundry, and a bronze cast of Sydney will be produced, finished with a black and white patina to match the coloring of the breed.

 

Stage 1: A basic dog shape in foam and wire. On the wall,
a print of Landseer’s A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society serves as a model, along with photos of less famous Newfoundlands.

 

Stage 2: With clay applied over the wire armature, the sculpture starts to look more realistic.
 
 

Modelmaker Carolyn Thome (right) brought in her dog for a day of live modeling. Not the same breed, but her presence helped Lora to give life to the figure. In the background, Lora Collins and Erin Mahoney.

 

Stage 3: Sculptor Lora Collins adds detail.

  

Lora Collins works on a paw. As details of fur and expression are added, Sydney’s personality emerges

 

Ready for his close-up! The clay model is finished and all set for mold-making.

 

Bracketing Snowboards Isn't Easy

A new case display about snowboarding opened up at the National Museum of American History this month. The exhibit briefly traces the history/evolution of the snowboard from its beginning to current style. Objects on display in the Snowboard Exhibit include Shaun White's Snowboard and Snowboarding outfit (Coat and Pants), a pair of Hannah Teter's boots, and examples of early snowboards, known as "Snurfer's".

Senior model maker Jon Zastrow was called on by the NMAH exhibit team to fabricate brackets for the snowboards on display. He devised an ingenious bracket that is adjustable on three axes of rotation, which greatly simplified the process of tweaking the the object's positioning during the install. This was particularly important because Jon didn't have access to the snowboards until he went on site.

Above: Prototype bracket

Although this exhibit consists of only one case, the success of the installation required fast response and effective collaboration between American History's team and OEC, due to a very tight deadline. The results speak for the high quality of each team member's contribution.

The Snowboard Exhibit is on the 1^st floor on the American History Museum (Constitution Ave. Entrance) in the Far Right corner (Near the gift Shop) and will be on display at least through Winter 2013.

 

Above: The final installation 

3D Printer Gets Press

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.

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. 

We're Famous

Check out the write up we got on MAKE:

Geek Field Trip Report! Smithsonian Office of Exhibits Central

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!

 

 

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!

Rock seating

The Office of Exhibits Central (OEC) has been collaborating with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) on the creation of a bronze sculpture for inclusion in one of the museum's upcoming exhibits.  When completed, the sculpture will resemble boulder-size rocks on which visitors can sit, allowing them to interact with the surrounding sculptural tableau.  Achieving a final result that closely resembled nature was a critical component of the work, which OEC model maker, Adam Metallo, accomplished with great success.

From the onset, the project was discussed extensively among the curator and project manager at NMNH; OEC's model making team which included Adam Metallo, Natalie Gallelli, and Vincent Rossi; and the artist who will be undertaking the other sections of the tableau.  Before the initial meeting, Metallo--an accomplished sculptor--conducted research on rocks in order to study a variety of textures, shapes, and sizes so that he could produce a generic model that was not geographically specific.  His research was used to help Gallelli produce a small maquette, which Metallo and Gallelli took with them to the introductory meeting with NMNH staff.  Once the maquette had been approved, Metallo was able to begin finalizing the sculpture's details.

First, the outlines of the entire tableau were drawn on the floor.  Then, the model making team used a variety of props to establish the proper height, width, and depth for the rock seating which needed to comfortably accommodate two adults, and be in proportion to the rest of the sculptural grouping.  Once the dimensions and orientation of the seating had been determined, the next step in the process was to make a 3-D rendering of it in CAD software, which was subsequently printed out at full size to ensure that the sculpture was exactly as Metallo wanted it to be.

Metallo then glued 4" thick strips of foam together to make a large block.  He used electric hot knives and wire cutters to sculpt the basic shape of the rock; the fine detail was completed with butcher knives, hot knives, and sandpaper.  Once the sculpting was finished, Metallo smoothed the surface of the foam with a heat gun which slightly melted the exterior, in order to remove the knife marks.  Lastly, the foam was sprayed with plaster using a cup gun to give it a stone-like appearance.

A bronze casting of the model will be produced at a nearby foundry, and the touchable rock seating will be installed at the museum.  As Metallo observed, "It is quite exciting and gratifying to be able to create something that will be on display at NMNH for many years to come.  I am also pleased by the fact that visitors will be able to interact with it, enjoy it as a sculpture, as rock seating, and as part of an important exhibit."

Written by Antonia Harbin.

 

photo credits:

      photo 1: Adam Metallo--The rock seating model.

      photo 2: Adam Metallo--Vincent Rossi, Carolyn Thome, and intern Matthew
               Davis determine the appropriate height, width, depth, and
               orientation of the rock seating.

      photo 3: Antonia Harbin--The rock seating model.

Working Together on Dig It!

OEC's Model Shop is working on two components for the National Museum of Natural History's new exhibition, Dig It!: The Secrets of Soil -- a topographic model showing the layers of soil under the surface and how they affect the land on which we live, and a cast of a tree trunk for the entrance portal of the exhibition.

As an editor, my work is pretty solitary and quiet. I am always amazed and a bit envious when I go back into the shops and see how the people in Fabrication and Model Shop have to work so closely together and how much daily collaboration and communication is needed to just get the job done -- and done well.

The time-lapse video below is an extreme example as almost everyone in the shop lent a hand in putting together the fiberglass and rubber mold for the tree trunk cast.

Dig It!: The Secrets of Soil opens July 19.

More photos of the production of the topographical map and tree cast.

Busy, Busy, Busy

There are so many things happening in the shops right now that it is difficult to write about just one project! Instead, I have posted some new pictures in the photo album for your enjoyment.

A team from the Fabrication and Model Shops have been installing the tri-motor airplane vignette for the new America by Air exhibit, opening at the National Air and Space Museum later this year.

Modelmaker Natalie Gallelli has been hard at work finishing the mannequins for that exhibit as well. Here she is posing with an airline attendant modeled from herself. In addition to sculpting and molding body parts for the mannequins, Natalie made all the clothing they wear.

And here is Jon Zastrow, one of OEC's resident CNC router experts! The CNC (computer-numeric controlled) router makes producing multiple copies of intricately designed pieces much easier and more efficient.