Right-click on the images to open them in a new tab at a larger size.
POPnology celebrates the connection between popular culture and technology. I created the content and design for the show. and wrote the copy for the entire exhibition, including audio for the interactive displays.
I was fortunate to be the lead designer and content creator for a stellar 8,000 square foot traveling exhibition that’s been featured at the Boston Museum of Science, Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Canada’s Ontario Science Center, TELUS World of Science and Pacific National Exposition, LA County Fair, Arizona Science Center, Airzoo (Kalamazoo, MI), and Imagination Station (Toledo, OH), The Rochester, NY Museum and Science Center, Wichita Exploration Place, and The Space Center, Houston, among others.
Two weeks before I completed this display, I had never heard of the IoT. I was able to research it, write copy, complete the design, and fabricate the installation in a very short window before POPnology shipped to its next venue. I work very well under deadline pressure, and enjoy problem-solving when there is absolutely no clear path to a solution.
I proposed fabricating a central tower that would travel inside the base, then be forklifted up where metal pins would support it. The outer fins would be half inch plywood with vinyl graphics, capped with an aluminum strip.
Faces would be backlit standoffs, and the upper fins would have an LED strip running in a 1/4” channel on the edges.
Using scrap cardboard, I made a rough version before proceeding to production. The final pieces were trimmed on a CNC after vinyl and scratch-resistant laminate was adhered to both sides. The substrate for the upper section was 1” Gatorboard; it didn’t need to be beefy since visitors wouldn’t be able to get close to it. This saved a lot of weight, and allowed me to do the fabrication myself without adding an extra task to the Stage Nine shop.
4’x8’ interlinking wall sections were cut on a CNC router from my Illustrator files.
I staged the cabinets, which contained reference objects for the exhibition (toy monorail, vintage science pulp fiction magazines, an antique movie projector, etc.)
Gene Roddenberry. Octavia Butler. Douglas Adams. Walt Disney. Dr. Cynthia Brazeal.
These walls are a tribute to imagination and engagement in defining the future. I did a pull quote from each person and explained the significance of their contributions. My favorite is from the late author and futurist Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy): “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”
My intention was to inspire visitors and set the stage for what they’re about to experience. POPnology is an unusual exhibition; it’s not one where visitors just look at screen-used costumes and props from a TV show or movie.
Popular with all ages, this is a recreation of a room from 1983 down to the last detail… and horrific orange shag carpet. There are two interactives; on the left, visitors experience a day in the life of “Bob” on April 9, 1983. The voiceover and music track triggers lights that showcase the objects being referenced.
On the right, the buttons trigger a light that focuses attention on the objects being referenced. No audio, so it doesn’t detract from the left side’s presentation.
I dismantled a period TV and embedded a 19” flat-screen that ran period TV commercials on a loop with no audio. The magazines and Yellow Pages disguise the width of the flat-screen. In AfterEffects, I made a 4:3 aspect ratio mask to maintain the illusion if visitors were seeing it from different angles.
The premise is that everything in the room (except for the ironing board) is now in the chip that’s displayed on the left side of the left hand panel.
The entire display has references to the film The Big Chill.
As a content creator, my goal here was to draw comparisons to non-digital media in a fun and interesting way. When a visitor pushes a button, the ceiling light dims and a small LED spotlight highlights the physical objects being referenced (cassettes, road maps, encyclopedias, a dictionary, LP vinyl records, etc.).
I glued, screwed and anchored every object to prevent movement or damage in transit. All the Stage 9 install crew had to do was plug it into a power drop.
The two “prop clusters” aren’t attached to the carpet, allowing venue staff to vacuum the display.
Nvidia was an industry partner, and initially this display was focused on the technology. Visitors didn’t find the content compelling and many found the inclusion of the Disneyland Autopia car to be an odd fit. In 2019 I upgraded the content to take visitors from the earliest attempts to tomorrow’s vehicles.
I had the great pleasure of having lunch with Bob Gurr, Disney Legend and Imagineer (and who designed Autopia, the Monorail, and many other Disneyland attractions) when he stopped by Stage Nine in West Sacramento in 2017. He’s featured on the front left panel of the display.
Baxter is a real industrial robot that gives a short introductory spiel as visitors enter the exhibition. I designed an environment that protects it during transport, then folds out to form a barrier to keep visitors outside the display.
Stage Nine contracted with a very talented craftsman named Eric Olson to create a “city of the future” made from Keva Planks. I didn’t think his proposed structures conveyed the sense of wonder the display required, so he worked off my sketches to create what you see below.
Kids are free to build their own structures, (hopefully) inspired by the permanent sculpture.
These four 4’x8’ walls are visitor favorites. One of my pleasures as a content creator is finding stories that can draw visitors in, whether or not they read everything. David Pogue isn’t a familiar face to most people, but his quote is an eye-opener. To see the text more clearly, open in a new tab.
The left-hand panel buttons trigger period TV commercials for the toy robots in the center of the display. In a later revision, the static right-hand panel was replaced with a “Robo-Quiz” interactive for which I wrote the copy and animated in AfterEffects. R2-D2 and the Terminator are commercially purchased replicas.
How do you present material without spending a grillion dollars on licensing fees? Use authentic, autographed photos of Brent Spiner and Arnold Schwarzenegger, scale models of C-3PO , R-2 D-2 and “Lost In Space” B-9, stock photos and public domain imagery.
In a 1960s video clip, Clarke describes a future that is now entirely commonplace: a world connected via the Internet.
My first reaction when I was asked to create a 16’x8’ wall display on machine learning, was, “What is machine learning?” My goal (again, on a very short deadline) was to make it engaging and understandable by visitors of varying ages and educational levels.
Ed gave us permission to use his original concept art. I wanted visitors to see the steps he went through to arrive at the final design, replicated by a fan and purchased for this exhibition. Ed’s brilliant set and conceptual designs for “Back To The Future II” are featured elsewhere in the exhibition. I created the panel graphic entirely in Photoshop.
The exhibition is divided into two parts: Bone Wars and early paleontology, and the modern era of paleontology.
I was responsible for the entire content of the exhibition, including all research, all copywriting, all design, all video content (producing, editing and animation), and all cabinet and interactives design.
Curatorial expert was Dr. Thomas Williamson, Curator of Paleontology at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. I went to Albuquerque with a small crew to produce footage I’d later edit into video clips for the exhibition. We shot on location in the specimen warehouse, the museum, the lab, and at a dig site.
The exhibition has seen record attendance numbers at The Bishop Museum (Honolulu, HI), Grand Rapids Public Museum (Grand Rapids, MI) and Museum of Science and History (Jacksonville, FL).
“Expedition: Dinosaur exceeded our expectations in terms of attendance and response from our visitors.”
Brad Evans, Director of Exhibits and Production, The Bishop Museum (Honolulu)
The tops are 1/2” vinyl-clad Gatorboard, held together with four strips of aluminum and Velcro. The base is used to transport railings, stanchions, and the hexagonal decorations that hide the animatronic dinosaur base.
One side features the choice of four video clips. A second side features a “Dino Quiz” where visitors are presented with multiple-choice questions, followed by animated answer screens. The other two sides are for an informational panel and an access door.
There are three towers, one for each visitor-controlled dinosaur.
The tops are 3/4” plywood, routed on the back side to accept 1/4” Coroplast.
I trimmed and scored Coroplast panels at varying heights, which ship flat and are inserted into the tops at each venue.
Visitors choose from six hexagonal wooden tokens. When placed on the reader, one of six brief videos, which I animated in AfterEffects, is triggered.
I completely reimagined an earlier version of this exhibition, which is now in high demand. It’s appeared in Wichita Exploration Place, Museum of Science and History (Jacksonville, FL), South Florida Science Center (West Palm Beach), Museum of Science and Discovery (Fort Lauderdale, FL) and the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia.
The current touring exhibition has new interactive displays, a new graphic look, and new video content.
I was responsible for cabinet design, content, graphic design, set decoration, video content (copywriting, animation and editing) and securing all assets for travel.
Interactive cabinets double as decorative crates, which means that there is no storage requirement for venues.
Stage Nine does not have rights to use characters in promotion or advertising, so they purchase full-size statues, like this one from Muckle.
The top sections nest, and are pulled up and held in place by metal pins. This allows greater height for the display, but the option to keep it low for some venues. The interior provides a generous space for the disassembled statue to be safely stored for transport.
This interactive requires visitors to slap touchpads at both ends, running back and forth as quickly as possible.
My only instructions were: “Design a cabinet that looks fun and interesting.”
The side TV ran an animated loop that explained the activity. TVs on each end displayed Pond 5 “medical” animation on a loop.
I designed the cabinet in SketchUp, then generated a complete set of drawings for the Stage Nine shop. The two touchpad panels slide out and lock in place. I didn’t provide details for how to hang the TV, as that’s something the crew had done previously and didn’t need my direction.
As with all cabinets, I started with a pallet-jackable base.
Four cabinets display “period” rooms for the four major ages of comic books: Golden Age (1938-56), Silver Age (1956-70), Bronze Age (1970-85), and Modern Age (1985-present day).
Each cabinet is fleshed out with period-accurate set decoration. The Easter egg is an age-appropriate photo of Stan Lee in each cabinet.
The walls slide in and fronts fold in for transport. Control panel features an iPad for informative content, buttons that activate a voiceover narration and lighting that showcases the artifacts, and a “goodie box” that contains period-appropriate artifacts.
The 70s cabinet, shown below, includes a bean bag chair, period action figures, and a TV retrofitted with a flat screen, running the campy series “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl” clips on a continuous loop.
The base for the “Step-Around” challenge folds up for transport.
The new look for the show is comic book style. I used non-IP (intellectual property) examples of gadgets, strength, skill and elements. I wasn’t even allowed to use the word “Superhero,” which is copyrighted.
Stage Nine couldn’t show licensed images for Batman, so I designed acrylic standoffs that allowed me to affix Batmobile, BatBoat, BatCycle and other models to the display case wall. This is the only one of the four “decades” back sides that is not interactive.
Visitors can fire up the turbine on the stand, light up the headlights, activate afterburner lights and sound, and turn on the red rotating light on the top of the car through the center control panel. I left the front area free of props and panels so visitors could get a good photo op shot.
I designed the environment in SketchUp and it was fabricated in-house by the Stage Nine shop. The Batmobile replica is a licensed copy from Barris Kustoms. Because it’s just the left half of the car, I was able to add interactives and set pieces that echoed the Batcave look of the 60s TV show.
The display (including the car) splits in two for transport. The front flooring and railing folds up, and the props ship in another cabinet.
Visitors select from four video clips taken from George Barris interviews and view them on the Bat-table TV.
Most of the Bat-computers are just vertically mounted TVs with CNC-cut holes in the front of the box that encloses them.. Cheesy AfterEffects animation completes the illusion, and was far simpler and cheaper than wiring up dozens of LEDs.
This was an off-the-shelf purchase from Science Kinetics. I added decorative vinyl and instructional graphics (vinyl on ABS, attached to a removable metal frame). For transport, it fits into the cabinet below.
The Laser Lab and Wentzscope travel inside the crate. At the venue, the top is forklifted off and set to one side. The bottom shell is lifted by hand and set aside to remove the Laser Lab.
When reassembled, this display becomes part of the exhibit, with a video interactive. Every crate in this exhibition is fully functional and becomes part of the environment.
Right-click on the images to open them in a new tab at a larger size.
Rock U enables visitors to play real instruments in a non-judgmental setting. My goal in remaking the exhibition was to move away from the cliche’ focus on Elvis and the other artists who capitalized on the talent of R&B artists. I created content that focused on many aspects of the Rock and Roll phenomenon, including how we experience music and the heyday of AM radio.
I created almost all of the content and graphics, and wrote the copy for the panels.
Big Mama Thornton sold over two million copies of “Hound Dog,” long before it was recorded by Elvis Presley. When I overhauled and updated the exhibition for Stage Nine, I revised the content to more accurately convey the roots and evolution of the genre.
Elvis was the King… but Little Richard was the architect of Rock and Roll.
I used LP covers as design elements. They are affixed to plywood backs with standoff screws and protective 1/4” acrylic. Flatscreen TV mounts are attached to the albums and graphic panels, and the LPs are hung on site.
Using actual newspaper clippings, a 45rpm record, and Beatles bobblehead dolls, I added this to the panel to draw in visitors to read the adjacent text.
Rock U was originally geared toward state fairs, but Stage Nine’s intention was to book it at science museums. Where possible, I added informative content that visitors of all ages could find surprising and interesting.
The “peekaboos” revealed the answer when visitors lifted them. And yes, Ozzie really bit the head off a bat someone threw on stage, thinking it was made of rubber. Unfortunately, it was not. After getting painful rabies shots, he vowed never to do it again..
I wrote “period” AM radio commercial copy that was often read live before introducing the next song. The 30-second hourglass was a success; most visitors used it instead of their phones or watches to time their “performance.” Yes, it is possible to read this aloud in thirty seconds:
“Got the Strawberry Alarm Clock comin’ right up, but first I gotta tell ya about an event this weekend you don’t want to miss. Come on down this Saturday to Carlson Chrysler-Plymouth and check out the new Dodge Charger! The 1968 models just arrived and there are five on the lot right now! Stick shifts and automatics! They have a huge inventory of ‘67 models that have to go NOW! Plymouth Barracudas and Satellites, Chrysler New Yorkers and even a Dodge Polara convertible! Plus free hot dogs and balloons for the kids. Hey, speaking of food, here’s a little Incense and Peppermints for ya, right here on Radio 1240, where we’ve got all your rock and roll!”
Not all visitors would recognize them, but their stories are interesting… and part of my responsibility as a content creator is to be a storyteller.
There are fascinating stories behind thousands of songs. Visitor feedback told me I picked five good ones.
During the soft launch, the theme was total fantasy. Museums were leery of booking it, so Stage Nine hired noted author and Stanford research scholar Adrienne Mayor as curatorial consultant.
She was an invaluable resource as I wrote and designed the second wave of graphics that were based on myths and legends from many regions, including Central and North America.
Four walls of an eight-wall homage.
Right click on images to open them in a larger size, in a new tab.
I designed the cabinet to be kid-friendly, but accessible to taller humans.
Small visitors choose their “actors” from a bin below the stage, and have a choice of four background scenes for their production.
This was my first freelance job with Stage Nine. My task was to flesh out the exhibition with interesting graphic elements and some additional cabinetry. And yes, red bugs are actually used to create food dye.
I did the research and created these panels and displays, among others.
This is the entrance to the “factory” area of the exhibition. The shape, size and graphics give the illusion of height.
Did you know there are suckers that have scorpions embedded in them? Neither did I, until I did the research for these walls. Visitors spend a long time with this display and read most of it. Dwell time is, for me, a goal as I design exhibition elements.
This is another display visitors spend a long time reading. The Gene Wilder image and stylized factory shapes were painted by a scenic artist, based on a rendering I supplied. The picture frames tie both wall sets together.
The theme that year was “sports.” These are samples of the many 40”x40” and larger graphics I created that were scattered throughout the show. Stage Nine provided cabinetry and graphics in partnership with the Fairplex staff, especially the late Michael Converse, with whom I collaborated.
At the clients’ request, I included STEM content to make the show more informative and interesting.
