A sampling of four very different projects.

1. Deborah Sovinee
Jan Crocker LLC Senior Exhibit Designer

2. Quest for immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt
The largest collection of Egyptian artifacts ever to travel in the U.S. 2004

3. I took my paint fan deck to Washington, D.C. and matched colors to the objects and created the show around the
saturated colors that came directly from the ancient objects, and I worked with the National Gallery of Art to design the
casework to ensure that the objects would be wheelchair accessible.

4. I contacted a friend in Atlanta and borrowed a mummy that was used to create a story of medical and archaeological discovery. This
was a highlight of the exhibition.
Drapery mounted near the ceiling helped create a sacred space for viewing the mummy and the video reconstructions for the
thousands of school groups that visited the exhibition.

5. Initial sketch of Hetepheres area
We recreated the story of the discovery and painstaking reconstruction by archaeologists of the tomb of Queen
Hetepheres, borrowing objects, reconstructions, and using pages from the original journals . We commissioned a
virtual recreation of how the tomb would have rotted into dust over 5,000 years . Visitors could peek into a crevice in a
wall to view the movie.

6. The iconic, touchable sculpture at the entrance
tells visitors that even you, too, can be a
scientist as the little girl recreates Galileo’s ball
drop from the Tower of Pisa.
Investigate! is one of the four “Science is an Activity” series of Constructivist exhibits that defined a new direction for
the science museum field. Filled with loose parts, open-ended exhibits, running water, and entirely experimental
learning, it forced us to create new models for designing and maintaining exhibits. 1999

7. Vistors experiment with their own solar cars; theorize, based on evidence they uncover, sift through crushed apricot
pits, and categorize in the midden; add their questions to the “Question Wall”; measure and theorize at a sink area on
which cups retain heat best.

8. 22
Playing by the Rules/Virtual Fishtank
Good design focuses on seeing what is possible, and creating something wonderful within
those parameters. 2007

9. SKETCHES AND
SCHEMATICS
Playing by the Rules/Virtual Fishtank, cont’d

10. This was an old lecture hall, long and steep, closed in on all sides. The concrete steps started at the bottom and went
steeply up to one side. I had someone drill a hole through so I could see inside and the steps were cinderblock and
hollow! I made a model, reoriented the stage 90º to the way you see it now, drew up schematics and demolished the
former lecture hall to create a new, open, accessible space. In the process I saved natural history dioramas using them
to create the back and side walls. I created a space that felt like a clearing in the forest: open, restful, surrounded by
activity.
Science Live! stage 2001

11. In addition to creating a space that all the educators love to work in and visitors flock to, I removed an old lift, the only
way to get up the three feet to the next level if you used a wheelchair. I integrated a new ramp into the stairs and stage
- all done within a tight budget. This is one of my favorite projects: beautiful, practical, and accessible to all.

12. ASTRONOMY -
SHOWING SUN AND
PLANETS
CHILDREN’S EXHIBIT - GEOLOGIST FIELD STATION
MAPPING - VISITORS CAN
CONTROL HOW THE SUN HITS
MODEL OF EVEREST OVER
COURSE OF A DAY. INFANT AREA
Other projects

13. UNDERSEA
MURAL I
PAINTED FOR
INFANT AREA
Sketches and Paintings

14. •Ramesses the Great •New office for President of Museum of Science
•Quest for Immortality: Treasure of Ancient Egypt
•Community Solar System
•Welcome to the Universe
•Communication Café
•Natural Mysteries
•Investigate: A See-For-Yourself Exhibit
•Mapping the World
•Pinhole Photography
•Inua: Spirit of the Eskimo
•King Herod’s Dream: Caesarea by the Sea
•Indiana Jones and the Adventure of
Archaeology
•Playing By The Rules and Virtual Fishtank
•Learning Not Waiting - Boston Medical Center
•Pets and People - Providence Children’s
Museum
•Science Live! Stage
•Electronics
•Hands-On Medical Discovery Space
•Tropical Rainforest: A Disappearing Treasure •Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
•Hilton-Winn Farm
Project List