The Smithsonian Institute created the Sant Ocean Hall, the largest exhibit in Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. Contributors of the Ocean Initiative and Sant Ocean Hall include; The Congress of the United States, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Victoria and Roger Sant, The Summit Fund of Washington, 3M, Ocean Conservancy, the History Channel, Sony Electronics, Inc. and many more.
When walking into the exhibit, your eyes are drawn to the centerpiece of the hall; a scale model of a North Atlantic Right Whale dubbed Phoenix. As your gaze shifts to the ceiling, other eye-catching models come into view, such as the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, Giant Oarfish, and the collection of marine fossils. The exhibit also houses an Indo-Pacific coral reef aquarium with 24 different living species.
There were two notable interactives within the space. The first was two quizzes finding either your ocean animal or ocean microbe with personality type questions. The second was a point-of-view of a predator fish looking for prey, and the prey fish using light to hide. There were History Channel and other educational videos all over the exhibit, along with the Ocean Odyssey, projections of ocean ecosystems wrapping the upper bay of the exhibit. One QR code found was about jellyfish thriving in warm water, and eating young fish due to a lack of predators from overfishing and global warming. The exhibit also had a theatre and global ocean data projected onto a “floating” six-foot-diameter sphere, with narration of information.
The exhibition was created to convey how essential the ocean and all of the systems within it are to all life on Earth. The curators hoped to show the wonders and importance of ocean life, paring it with their endangerment, and urging museum-goers to help sustain the necessary systems of the ocean. The target audience of the Sant Ocean Hall exhibit is the general public, like families, students, and tourists. The most common museum-goers I saw when visiting the exhibit were tourists and groups of field trip students. When visiting a museum, most aren’t looking for purely education, but rather, entertainment. I believe that the exhibit offers both, and could sway uninterested visitors to care about the ocean and its importance.
Some challenges would be content selection, space/architectural constraints, and accessibility. With the ocean being such a vast and diverse system with thousands of ecosystems within, deciding what aspects of specimens, oceanography, and marine issues to display versus others would need careful consideration. Going hand-in-hand with content selection, the constraints of the space of the exhibit itself would pose limitations in what could be displayed. Not only that, but the building itself is a sort of historical piece, so taking away too much of the original architecture would be detrimental to its preservation. Lastly, the accessibility of the exhibit needed to be prioritized, as well. Making pathways wide enough to traverse, elevator and ramp accessibility, audio narration, and captions are all accessibility considerations that the exhibit incorporated. The Sant Ocean Hall and the Smithsonian in general are well funded, with the exhibit having a plethora of resources at its disposal, including the NOAA, the History Channel, and Sony Electronics Inc.
The layout of the exhibit was very intentional and successful. You first walk in and see the wonders of marine life; models, fossils, and life specimens. Then, you are shown the troubles these creatures and their homes face, and how this magical world could die and go extinct. We, however, are shown possible solutions to these problems, giving the audience a sort of call-to-action.
Citations:
“Sant Ocean Hall.” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian, naturalhistory.si.edu/exhibits/sant-ocean-hall. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.
Sant Ocean Hall, Smithsonian, 11 May 2023, ocean.si.edu/sant-ocean-hall.
“Uncovering the Depths.” Sant Ocean Hall – Washington, DC – Cultural & Heritage Design, Quinn Evans, www.quinnevans.com/projects/sant-ocean-hall. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.
Hi Jillian:
Overall, your review effectively fulfills the requirements of the assignment by critically evaluating the exhibition’s content, presentation, and objectives. Your engagement with the exhibition’s themes and consideration of its target audience and logistical challenges demonstrate a thorough understanding of museum exhibition practices. Here is some feedback:
Clarity and Organization: The review is well-structured and organized, making it easy to follow the progression of ideas. Each section addresses a specific aspect of the exhibition, from the objects displayed to the challenges faced in its creation.
Engagement with Exhibition Content: You provide a detailed description of the exhibition, highlighting key features such as the scale model of the North Atlantic Right Whale and the interactive elements. Your analysis of the exhibition’s purpose and central argument is thorough, showing a deep engagement with its thematic content.
Consideration of Target Audience: Your discussion on the target audience is insightful, recognizing that the exhibition caters to a broad demographic including families, students, and tourists. You also acknowledge the importance of balancing education and entertainment to engage visitors effectively.
Evaluation of Challenges: You effectively identify several challenges faced by the curators and institution in realizing the exhibition, such as content selection, space constraints, and accessibility considerations. This demonstrates a critical understanding of the logistical complexities involved in exhibition design.
Evaluation of Exhibition Success: Your evaluation of the exhibition as a whole is balanced and thoughtful. You acknowledge its successes, particularly in layout and thematic presentation, while also acknowledging areas where it could potentially improve, such as providing more comprehensive solutions to the issues presented.
Use of Citations: Your use of citations adheres to the provided guidelines, providing sources for further reference and supporting your analysis with external evidence.