2:30pm EST., Friday February 14th

Presenting Live via Zoom

Title: UNIVERSAL EXHIBITION DESIGN

Every exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) applies Universal Design principles in its design, fabrication, and installation. That includes the label text, immersive experiences, hands-on interactives, and multi-media programs; all designed to enhance and interpret the exhibition content. This presentation will start with the 1992 design of "Star Trek and the Sixties," an early example of Universal Design principles; continue with some examples from my 30-plus year design career; and finish with a look at two of NASM’s recently renovated space flight galleries, "One World Connected" and "Exploring the Planets" and their application of Universal Exhibition Design principles, with the goals of teaching and inspiring all audiences.

Barbara Brennan retired from the National Air and Space Museum in 2012, after 31 years as an Exhibition Designer and Chair of the Exhibits Design and Technology Division. She was senior designer for Star Trek and the Sixties; How Things Fly; The Wright Brothers & the Invention of the Aerial Age; America by Air; and Pioneers of Flight, in addition to numerous temporary installations. She returned to the museum as Design Manager for their major renovation project (2020-2022) and currently serves in a volunteer capacity, planning art installations in the renovated offices and conference rooms. From 2006 to 2023, Ms. Brennan taught museum exhibition design in George Washington University’s Museum Studies Program as an Adjunct Professor, Co-Director of their Graduate Exhibit Design Certificate Program, and full-time Visiting Assistant Professor and Director of the Corcoran’s graduate Exhibit Design program for one year. Now retired from teaching, Ms. Brennan is an exhibiting artist and member of the Artists’ Alliance at Jarrett Thor Fine Arts cooperative gallery in Colonial Beach, Virginia, where she shows her oil and pastel paintings. Ms. Brennan holds a BA in fine arts and MA in art history from Indiana University and an MFA in theater set design from George Washington University.