Reframing complex topics to empower audiences.
I’m trained in anthropology and folklore, and I’ve always been fascinated by science. Informal education content combines these skills and interests. Scroll down to browse samples of my work from museums and science centers.
Chicago Backyards, a supplement to Backyard Adventures
Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2017
Chicago Backyards was an in-house supplement to Backyard Adventures by SCITECH. I called upon on-staff experts in horticulture, taxidermy, and entomology for their expertise, and created these exhibits end-to-end. The final displays represent Chicagoland nature and PNNM’s mission through collections objects, living specimens, and interactives.
Soils, Seeds, and Sprouts: Tropical and Temperate
Artwork by Sharon Bladholm
Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2017
This exhibition inspired visitors to get down to earth with an extravagant combination of 2D and 3D art in media including ceramics, glass bronze, watercolor, and etched prints. In addition to editing all label copy for this show and crafting Sharon’s bio, I put my background in mountmaking to use managing the fitting and installation of 68 brass wall mounts and 11 suspensions.
Micole Birdwalk Updates
Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
2017
I managed this project to replace and supplement outdated signage in an outdoor exhibit space. The new grant-funded material features sustainability content with an emphasis on energy production and sustainable energy use.
In-house evaluation demonstrated that the new material successfully blended in with existing signage and that some visitors left with specific sustainability actions in mind.
Our House: Rethinking Home in a Changing Climate
Chicago Academy of Sciences / Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
On-site 2017, then traveling
Our House explores what climate change is, how it directly impacts communities across the United States, and how we can use our ingenuity to design safer structures that are also better for the environment.
Content I developed spurred a new $25,000 gift from a company which became a repeat sponsor. In-house evaluation concluded that visitors came away with an understanding of the main climate change and sustainability messages told in the exhibition.
Explore Oregon
University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History
Prototype “Explore Oregon in the Making” 2012
Opened 2014
