Natural History Revived – Five Year Journey of Successful Transformation
Natural History Revived – Five Year Journey of Successful Transformation
April 16, 2020 by Taylor Studios
After five years in the making, we are thrilled to share the new . A project like this doesn’t come around every day. It has been a very exciting journey with a great group of collaborators.
Taylor Studios teamed up with and , Inc. to work alongside the University of Michigan team. The original building on campus was a treasure that held its own place in history. However, it was time for the Museum of Natural History to move into a new space which meant a new vision for the educational exhibits. The opportunity to re-imagine and dream of the possibilities started to take shape after years of careful planning.
The vision that emerged included four galleries along with bonus spaces that housed a mastodon diorama and a tree of life display. There were many reflections of the original space within the new design. Taylor Studios helped install over 600 artifacts that were already in the museum’s collection. Our team was also excited to refurbish five original dioramas. Some may say that the dioramas were artifacts themselves, as the artist, , is very well known for his work. The materials used were also unique and required some extra attention to ensure that they remained intact during the transition.
Typically, Taylor Studios is known for our scientifically accurate . This time creative interpretation led to a few more artistic expressions in our exhibit components. Taylor Studios built a tree of life sculpture with colorful rings seemingly suspended in air. Another artistic component came in the form of DNA. Taylor Studios fabricated oversized models of organelles for the “Under the Microscope” exhibit.
We did get to shine in our usual way by fabricating five new dioramas; two 14-foot tall trees that wrapped structural columns, and a variety of touchable nature models.
Brant Hendricks, Taylor Studios’ Project Manager for the project, reflects on the challenges and problem-solving that came into play:
“When dealing with a new building, you expect everything to be perfect. However, you quickly find that walls may not be straight, or measurements on a drawing may be slightly off. With a project of this size, the problem-solving needed a high-level of and coordination. One small change in the plan could potentially affect something much larger. Many times, the communication could be sent through email or conveyed in a phone meeting.
However, for a few instances, the communication had to be done in person to visualize how a change could impact other areas of the project.”
Along with problem-solving, Brant had to be very flexible in the artifact installation. With over 600 artifacts to mount in place, organizing and the schedule became slightly challenging. Using the completion date to calculate how many needed to be installed each day was essential to meeting our goal. There were many artifacts that were not seen until they needed to be installed. This threw off the typical process, but adjustments were made.
Having the experience of past projects helped Brant shift plans to still accomplish the end date goal.
At the conclusion of the project, we only needed to see the reaction of the visitors at the to know that it was a job well done. Individuals explored and interacted with the exhibits; the galleries were humming with excitement. The entire project team had smiles on their faces. Taylor Studios is proud and excited for the success of the University of Michigan’s Museum of Natural History.