Tag Archive for: Affiliates

All Here: Accessibility and Diversity:Balancing Design, Content and Access in the Molina Family Latino Gallery

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Many thanks to Eli Boldt, 2023 Smithsonian Leadership for Change intern, for this guest post. Boldt was one of several interns identifying and writing stories about underrepresented topics for Smithsonian Affiliations. This is one of two stories they completed this summer. 

A small, tactile display showing a scene from the Pueblo lands. One bronze, woman figurine is placing bread into a round, clay oven. Another is watching loaves of bread cool. To the bottom left is a button that prompts a user to push to smell bread.
One of the tactile displays in the exhibition which, when the silver button is pressed, releases an odor of bread baking. Photo by Eli Boldt.

The Molina Family Latino Gallery, which opened in June 2022, is a precursor to the National Museum of the American Latino. The museum, legislated by Congress in 2020, is still in development and currently has exhibition space at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The Molina Gallery is a taste of what the museum will be: it represents the many varied histories of the Latino experience in America and the way Latino culture and figures have impacted and shaped the United States.

The exhibition was developed using a design model called I.P.O.P., a framework for building a content strategy focusing on Ideas, People, Objects, and Physical experiences. This allows the content to be diversified across the exhibition. Some people connect more with objects, while others connect with pictures and stories of people. Some people benefit heavily from having physical experiences, which tactile objects help to do.

Making an exhibit accessible is a balancing of the many types of people who are coming into the space. To design with accessibility in mind means finding the sweet spot where information is available and accessible to the most amount of people.

Under the direction of Elizabeth Ziebarth, Access Smithsonian helped bring the gallery’s vision for inclusive design to fruition. Leading a small but mighty team—Ziebarth is both director of Access Smithsonian and head diversity officer at the Smithsonian—the staff strives “for consistent and integrated inclusive design that provides meaningful access” in all their work. Ziebarth identifies making a space accessible to the blind as the most challenging.

“My rule of thumb is that if I can make something accessible to people who are blind or have low vision, I could probably make everything else accessible. The most challenging part of the design is to take something that is visual and make it into something that can deliver the content and the experience to somebody who can’t see it,” Ziebarth said.

A black and white QR code that can be scanned for visual descriptions.
One of the QR codes that can be scanned for visual descriptions. Photo by Eli Boldt.

Ways the gallery took on the challenge was creating a shoreline, a perimeter of cases around the middle. People who use canes can tap their way through and follow the path. There are cues and raised tabs on the ground to identify where QR codes, which pull up audio narration, are located. The gallery makes use of tactiles to tell the story as well. Tactiles are objects that are meant to be touched and interacted with. The museum shows a clay figurine and invites visitors to touch. There is a button that releases the smell of bread, another that plays the sounds of Domino Park, Miami, and releases the smell of coffee. There are audio descriptions and closed captions on video content for deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors, and space for wheelchair users to have as much mobility as possible.

The accessibility of the gallery is not unique, but it also is not the standard. It was made possible because accessibility was a part of the conversation from the start. Access Smithsonian was able to make a substantial impact on the exhibit’s layout, design, and technology because the designers and curators asked questions about accessibility all throughout.

“There’s no way that we can be everywhere, and we rely on developing relationships, trust, and a great understanding with teams,” said Ashley Grady, senior program specialist at Access Smithsonian. “They hopefully have the knowledge to make a lot of decisions independently, but they know that we’re always here for that guidance and access to user/expert testing or the disability community.”

The gallery was designed by Museum Environments, an organization that designs and creates multicultural and sustainable exhibits. Mariano Desmarás, the creative director for Museum Environments, was eager to help make the gallery accessible. He noted that as a consultant and designer, he can make suggestions but to do what the gallery ended up accomplishing, the backing of the institution and its leaders is essential. Desmarás points to his own background of having undiagnosed ADHD as a child and his experience with dyslexia, as well as his father’s later-in-life vision impairment, as reasons why accessibility is so important to him.

“Everybody had some sort of connection that they could make to why it would be important to have an inclusively designed exhibition space. And so that made a difference,” Ziebarth said.

That lived experience of seeing the struggles of people with disabilities is often a motivator for making spaces accessible; it is why user/expert testing was vital to the creation of the gallery and its accessible features.

The Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD) is a non-profit organization doing work with inclusive design. Their user/experts are people who, through their own lived experiences, have expertise. IHCD and Access Smithsonian brought user/experts into the gallery as it was being built.

A clay tactile figure of a boy, worn down by touching.
Another tactile element which has been worn down by visitors touching it. Photo by Eli Boldt.

A typical user/expert testing session, as described by Grady, would begin with her meeting the exhibit team to understand what questions needed to be answered in that specific session. This ensured the right people were there to help. If they needed to test assistive listening devices, people who were Deaf or hard of hearing were prioritized.

“While those things can be intersectional, it’s important to make sure we’ve got the right people that would benefit the most from whatever the equipment is or element is,” Grady said.

The sessions were conversational. They engaged more with contextual inquiry to see how people engaged with the content. The sessions often included Access Smithsonian as well as people working on the exhibit’s content and design. This allowed for questions to be asked and answered as real people experienced the content.

The sessions lasted anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours, Grady explained, but they could look different depending on what was being tested and how many people were brought in. Sometimes only one or two components were being tested, whereas other times the sessions would be a comprehensive walkthrough of the gallery. Of course, user/expert testing was halted during the pandemic, but the team pivoted the testing to Zoom and continued their work.

A tactile display representing Domino Park in Little Havana, Miami. A game of dominos set up in the middle, with a coffee pot that emits the smell of coffee to the bottom left. In the back, between two small pillars is a photo from Domino Park.
A tactile display representing Domino Park in Little Havana, Miami. Photo by Eli Boldt.

Through user testing, things changed. Many were small changes, of course, but even small changes helped make every component as accessible as it could be. Color contrasts were changed, the heights of QR codes adjusted and font size perfected. When they got into the space, the design team mapped out the floorplan with blue tape according to ADA standards only to realize that the turn radius was not enough for motorized wheelchairs.

Michelle Cook, an inclusive design specialist with Access Smithsonian, stressed that the minimum standards are just that: the minimum.

“That’s one of the things that has been historically a challenge for those of us in the design field — and advocates for accessible or inclusive design — has been convincing people that it’s better to do more than the minimum because it serves a more diverse audience,” Cook said.

And diversity is what the Molina Family Latino Gallery is trying to communicate. To show that populations you might not think about are vital to the history of the United States. Latino history is American history: our cultures are intertwined. And within that diversity is the intersection of accessibility. They are two ideas that exist within each other.

“There’s this fear that inclusion focuses on a particular population and that it’s reductive,” Desmarás said. “I actually think that if it’s done right, inclusion is additive. That you’re saying that we’re all here.”

Source list:

  • https://latino.si.edu/
    The website for the National Museum of the American Latino, a project currently in production. At the end of 2020, Former President Trump signed a bill for its creation. What was formerly the Smithsonian Latino Center became the National Museum of the American Latino.
  • https://latino.si.edu/support/molina-family-latino-gallery
    The website for the Molina Family Latino Gallery. The gallery is the precursor to the National Museum of the American Latino.
  • https://americanhistory.si.edu/
    The website for the National Museum of American History, where the Molina Family Latino Gallery lives.
  • https://latino.si.edu/lead-donors-molina-family
    The five children of Dr. C. David Molina collectively donated $10 million for the creation of the gallery.
  • https://access.si.edu/
    The website for Access Smithsonian. This organization was created in 1991 and works with museums to create meaningful access for everyone.
  • https://museumenvironments.com/
    Museum Environments is an organization that creates exhibits on large and small scales. They specialize in multicultural and bilingual exhibitions. For ¡Presente! they won the 2023 Smithsonian Award for Excellence in Exhibitions.
  • https://www.humancentereddesign.org/
    The Institute for Human Centered Design is an education and design non-profit organization focused on universal, inclusive and accessible design. They were a part of creating the Molina Family Gallery, including but not limited to user/expert sessions.
  • https://www.humancentereddesign.org/user-expert-lab
    User/experts have personal experience with disabilities or limitations and can provide expertise and advice for design. They were heavily involved in the creation of the Molina Family Latino Gallery.
  • https://www.ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards/
    The website for the Americans with Disabilities Act and the design standards. As noted by Smithsonian employees through the experience of creating an accessible exhibition, ADA standards do not cover newer devices and are often insufficient. Described as the bare minimum. 

2021 Affiliations Virtual Conference was a Huge Success!

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Thank you to our Smithsonian and Affiliate speakers and attendees who participated in our 2021 Virtual Conference, October 26-28, and made it an extraordinary success! 2021 saw the highest-ever conference attendance in the history of the Affiliations National Conference, which is a testament to our conference program and the introduction of Affiliate Institutional registration, allowing even more Affiliate colleagues to attend this year.

“I greatly appreciated the virtual nature of this conference. I don’t think I would have been able to attend if it were in person. I found it interesting to hear from so many different museums. Thank you for making this conference accessible to museums with tight budgets!“

Smithsonian Affiliate attendee

Throughout three days and 30 sessions and workshops, Smithsonian, Affiliate, and guest speakers led thought-provoking sessions on collaboration opportunities, inequity in exhibition development, creating inclusive HR practices, engaging communities in civic action, best practices in exhibition writing, and more. A dynamic opening session centered youth advocates and their views on the future of the museum field alongside Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science & Research, and Kevin Young, Director of the National Museum of African American History & Culture.

In addition to the sessions and workshops, the Smithsonian Resource Fair library provided Smithsonian and Affiliate colleagues a virtual booth where they could upload documents, videos, and other resources for conference attendees to download and share with their organizations. Registered attendees can access and download these resources on the Virtual Attendee Hub until January 20, 2022.

Screen grab of the virtual attendee hub
Registered attendees can download resources on the Virtual Attendee Hub

“Sensational conference! I even wrote to my directors to thank them for making this possible. The platform used for the virtual conference was the easiest and most sophisticated I’ve experienced. The presenters were super, and I learned so much. Kudos to moderators–well done with links provided to us in the chat as well as lots of good interaction. I loved the conference!”

Smithsonian Affiliate attendee

All Smithsonian and Affiliate colleagues, regardless of registration, are able to view selected recordings from the Virtual Conference on our Smithsonian Affiliations website or YouTube playlist. If you require transcripts or have any questions, please email us at affiliates@si.edu.

Mark your calendars for when we next meet for an Affiliations Conference, October 23-25, 2022!

National Museum of American History Is Looking for Your Childhood Gaming Photos

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Three people stand at pinball machines
Photo by Louie Castro-Garcia on Unsplash

Did you play video games or computer games as a kid? Did you go to arcades? Do you have old photos of yourself playing these games or holding controllers or a console (for instance, holding an unopened box in a holiday photo)? If so, we want to hear from you!

The National Museum of American History team is working on a video for an exhibition space that will feature photos of people playing video games, computer games, and arcade games from their childhood. If you submit a photo, you might even have a chance to appear in the video talking about your memories of playing games!

What they are looking for:

Photos of you, your friends, and your relatives from the early 1980s through early 2000s playing video, computer, or arcade games, and the stories that go along with them. What game were you playing in the photo? Was it your favorite? Who else, if anyone, were you playing with? Where and when was the photo taken? Do you remember how the controllers felt in your hands? Do you remember how it felt to win the game or advance to the next level? We welcome contributors from across the globe, but the photo should relate to gameplay in the United States.

Gather your photo (or photos), scan it, or snap a quick image and e-mail it to NMAH-VideoGames@si.edu. Include your name, an e-mail or phone number where we can reach you, and a few sentences about the photo and your memories of playing video games or arcade games. Deadline: December 31, 2021

Smithsonian Affiliations at 25: Chapter 5: Moving Forward, Together

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Affiliations Anniversary Series: 25 Years in Your Neighborhood
Chapter 5: Moving Forward, Together
#SmithsonianAffiliations25

smithsonian 150th anniversary logo

In 1996, the Smithsonian created this logo to celebrate its 150th anniversary.

In 1993, the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents established the Commission on the Future of the Smithsonian and tasked the group with “an examination of the Smithsonian, its mandate and its roles, and an examination of the cultural, societal, and technological factors that influence its capacity to act.” Two years later, the Commission issued a report that identified a range of strategies for the Smithsonian to consider as it approached its 150th birthday—strategies aimed at making the Institution more relevant and accessible to the American public and enabling it to fulfill its mission as a national organization.

The 1995 report concluded, “The Smithsonian cannot achieve the nation’s expectations by itself,” and set out a series of recommendations around education; collections, research, and exhibitions; governance; and the future. Embedded in this report were the following recommendations:

  • Emphasize education both on the Mall and across the country through electronic means, traveling and collaborative exhibitions, and public programs,
  • Build collaborative partnerships with other museums, research centers, and educational institutions throughout the nation, and
  • Shape a master plan for maintenance of the priceless collections, including the sharing of collections through long-term or permanent loans to partner institutions.

Crowd on National Mall in 1996

As the Smithsonian’s 150th birthday celebration draws to a close, the crowd gathers in front of the Castle for an evening performance. Photo by Richard Hofmeister. Smithsonian Institution Archives, Acc. 09-257.

Just a year later, on the occasion of the Smithsonian’s 150th anniversary, I. Michael Heyman, then Secretary of the Smithsonian, announced the Smithsonian Affiliations program as one of several outreach initiatives introduced to fulfill the recommendations of the Commission and expand the Institution’s national reach: “The Smithsonian of the future must provide access to its collections and its vast resources. There is no value in being just the largest if we do not share the Smithsonian with as many people as possible. It means making sure those who cannot travel to Washington can somehow experience and enjoy the Smithsonian.”

In addition to the Affiliations program, the Smithsonian launched its first-ever website and the traveling exhibition, America’s Smithsonian, which featured some of the Institution’s most prized artifacts, including First Ladies’ gowns, Arthur Ashe’s tennis racquet, and the Apollo 14 command module, and reached an estimated 10 million people across the nation.

The Affiliations program was formally approved by the Board of Regents on September 15, 1996: “VOTED that the Board of Regents adopts the statement of policy and guidelines…on the Smithsonian Institution’s collections-based affiliations…”

A person sits at a workshop desk with the Apollo 13 Odyssey command module in the shadows.

Master restoration specialist Greg “Buck” Buckingham oversaw the evaluation, identification and reinstallation of more than 80,000 components of the Apollo 13 spacecraft Odyssey. This view shows Buckingham inside Odyssey’s restoration lab, which was glassed in to allow the public to view the historic project. Photo courtesy of the Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, KS.

The first Affiliate joined the program in early 1997. By the end of that year, there were 21 Affiliate collaborators across the U.S . As we entered the 21st century, more than 50 mission-aligned organizations made up the Affiliate network and were collaborating with the Smithsonian to bring its resources to their communities. In these first years, the Affiliations program was primarily envisioned as a way to extend the impact of the America’s Smithsonian exhibition and reach communities across the nation with objects from the Smithsonian’s collections. Affiliate organizations could borrow objects on long-term loan, connecting the Smithsonian with their audiences in ways that were meaningful, relevant, and accessible. Working with the National Air & Space Museum, the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS began the restoration of the Apollo 13 Command Module Odyssey in 1995, as part of an effort to re-assemble the historic spacecraft. Made famous by the movie Apollo 13 which tells of the greatest rescue effort of a manned space flight, Odyssey went on display at the Cosmosphere in 1998, the same year the museum became an Affiliate. The command module remains on display today in the Cosmosphere’s Apollo Gallery, and the Affiliate continues to provide critical restoration services to the Smithsonian through its SpaceWorks division.

Over our 25-year history, Affiliations has grown far beyond its initial mandate to share objects with Affiliate organizations and has lived up to the Institution’s ambition to educate beyond the National Mall and build collaborative relationships with other museums and cultural organizations. Today, with more than 200 Affiliate collaborators in 46 states, Panama, and Puerto Rico, the Smithsonian is able to engage communities across the nation in myriad ways, many of which have been highlighted in our blog over the last several months. As a network, we are able to spark curiosity and learning, inspire a deeper understanding of our world, and work together to create a better tomorrow.

As the African proverb says, “If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” As we at Smithsonian Affiliations celebrate our 25th anniversary, we look forward to many more years of moving forward together with our Affiliate collaborators and continuing the Smithsonian’s important work grounded in the increase and diffusion of knowledge.

Smithsonian yellow sunburst with 175 to the right of it

Celebrate Smithsonian Affiliations’ 25th anniversary on social media with us September 15, 2021, #SmithsonianAffiliations25! All Smithsonian Affiliates are invited to share a memory as a Smithsonian Affiliate with us using the hashtag #SmithsonianAffiliations25. Make sure to tag @SIAffiliates on Twitter or @SmithsonianAffiliates on Instagram! Contact us for more info.

Catch up on our whole 25th Anniversary blog series here:

Smithsonian Affiliations at 25: Chapter 4: Supporting the People that Make Us Strong

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Supporting our network of Affiliate partners is a keystone of our work at Smithsonian Affiliations. As we continue to reflect on our past 25 years, it is the strength of the people we work with at Affiliate organizations that truly makes an impact on the work that we do. This month we are focusing on the professional development collaborations with Affiliate colleagues. Here we take you on a visual journey of the ways in which we have helped to make an impact furthering the professional growth of staff at our Affiliate partner organizations.

Read the full article

Smithsonian Affiliations at 25: Chapter 3: 10 Years of Reaching for the Stars Together

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Affiliations Anniversary Series: 25 Years in Your Neighborhood
Chapter 3: 10 Years of Reaching for the Stars Together

By: Tricia Edwards, Deputy Director, Smithsonian Affiliations and Natalie Wimberly, Management Support Specialist and Universe of Learning Project Manager, Smithsonian Affiliations

A young boy crouches in front of a telescope next to an adult in a bright green shirt seated next to him.

Student astrophotographer at Carolinas Aviation Museum (Charlotte, NC). Photo credit: Carolinas Aviation Museum.

“Working with Affiliations over the last 10 years has been one of the most productive collaborations for our Science Education Department,” says Mary Dussault, a STEM education program director at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in Cambridge, MA. Since 2012, with generous support from the Smithsonian’s Youth Access Grant program (YAG), Smithsonian Affiliations and Affiliates have collaborated with SAO to bring astronomy and astrophotography education to their communities through the Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos program (YCCC). Dussault adds, “Right from the get-go, we realized that the educational goals of the YAG program, the strategic partnership capacity and national network of Smithsonian Affiliations, and the scalable and accessible technology resources of SAO’s MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network were a case of the stars aligning.”

YCCC introduces communities, especially students, to the wonders of the universe. Participants can access SAO’s robotic telescopes, take images of the cosmos, and manipulate the photographs to produce their own artistic and scientific interpretations of the stars and galaxies. Along the way, they gain important technology skills and engage in—and apply—science, technology, engineering, art, and math content. As one young participant said, “I loved editing the photos. It grew my imagination and made me want to do more with it.”

A black and white image of the moon is pictured to the left of a brightly colored red, green, yellow and blue interpretation of the moon on right.

Photo captured by the MicroObservatory robotic telescope (left) alongside a student’s interpretation of the image.

Many Affiliates have participated in the program for multiple years and used YCCC to reach new audiences or forge deeper partnerships with existing collaborators. One Affiliate commented, “As a direct result of implementing the program we have already begun discussions with [our local] high school to develop a more intense astronomy program for next year.”

Since 2012, YCCC has grown to include 29 Smithsonian Affiliates and has reached more than 7,000 participants across the nation.

“Each Affiliate brings particular expertise and knowledge of their local community to adapting our SAO resources and materials, thereby creating wonderful program models that we never would have anticipated on our own,” says Erika Wright, SAO Education Specialist. For example, arts educator Annette Eschelman from the Springfield Museum of Art (Springfield, OH) was able to combine visual arts and astronomical imaging techniques to engage incarcerated youth. Starr Kelly from the Abbe Museum (Bar Harbor, ME) developed a summer camp program in which indigenous knowledge of the Wabanaki Nations informed the experience of students in the local Indian Township School.

Pieces of the Astronomy Kit rest on a table

Astronomy Kit for virtual NASA UoL 2020 Programming at Cape Fear Museum (Wilmington, NC). Photo credit: Cape Fear Museum

The successful collaboration model itself has also expanded, as SAO and Affiliations have teamed up to pursue a number of other astronomy-based education programs funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA. NASA’s Universe of Learning (NASA’s UoL), for example, connects the science, technology, subject matter experts, and adventure of NASA Astrophysics with STEM concepts, education standards, and 21st century skills central to science understanding and literacy. Resulting products, programs, and professional development experiences span a spectrum of environments and applications, enabling a rich learning “ecosystem” across the traditional boundaries of education. The goal of the program is to create and disseminate education products, programs, and professional development experiences that use NASA Astrophysics science, technology, and subject matter experts to advance NASA’s Science Mission Directorate education objectives on a national scale.

In partnership with Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, 15 Smithsonian Affiliate partners, over the course of 3 years, were identified to join the national network of collaborators for this project. The majority of the Affiliates who participated were already building on the long-term partnerships and successful implementations of the Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos program. Growing from these past project relationships, NASA’s UoL is able to extend its reach through Affiliates and the communities they serve.

“We have great content that we’ll share in our virtual portfolio and will gladly share with any other organization that can make use of it. I also hope to do other projects with Universe of Learning when possible.” Nathan Meyer, Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, KS

NASA’s UoL project asks 3 main questions: How does the Universe work? How did we get here? Are we alone? The project creates and delivers science and audience-driven resources along with experiences designed to engage and immerse learners of all ages and backgrounds in exploring the universe for themselves. Its main goal is to expose astrophysics content to a wider underserved audience as well as create a Community of Practice within the Affiliate partners to document, share, and discuss ideas about how this information could translate into their own institutions.

Astronomy resources are placed on a table at the Anchorage Museum

NASA’s UoL Science of Light Program at Anchorage Museum (Anchorage, AK). Photo credit: Anchorage Museum.

“Students wanted to spend more time doing these activities and engaging with astronomy related STEM resources. For some of the students, it was their first time in a planetarium, and being able to go there twice was their favorite part of the program. Others really enjoyed learning about the MicroObservatory resource and said they would continue using it on their own.” Aaron Slonecker, Anchorage Museum, Anchorage, AK

Within the 3-year program period, our Affiliate partners have created long-term NASA UoL community programs and are actively still engaged with Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory to help broaden the scope and reach of NASA’s UoL future programming.

Through both YCCC and NASA’s UoL, Affiliates have helped to broaden access to SAO resources and magnify the reach of their expertise, all while engaging young learners in their communities in astronomy. Affiliates have also built their capacity. They have bolstered their astronomy knowledge and expertise, while also learning how to implement public workshops and programs for audiences of all ages. They have created a community of learners through online discussions and webinars, brainstormed programming ideas, and learned with and from one another.

Later this year, Smithsonian Affiliations and SAO will debut the Youth Capture the Colorful Cosmos toolkit, developed in collaboration with the Abbe Museum, Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum (Honolulu, HI), and Springfield Museum of Art. The toolkit will provide how-to instructions for accessing the MicroObservatory, along with successful YCCC program models implemented by Affiliates with different audiences and in different settings, enabling even more Affiliates and their communities to explore the wonders of the cosmos. We also look forward to rolling out the Observing with NASA program soon. Affiliates will have the opportunity to apply to host Observing with NASA kiosks that allow public audiences to request their own telescope images and to practice image processing skills. Stay tuned for more details on these two exciting projects!

Stay tuned next month for another chapter in our 25th Anniversary Series! Until then, catch up on stories you’ve missed: