Smithsonian Inside Out

• Who designs and fabricates the many exhibitions produced each year by the Smithsonian?
• How are new museums, as well as the renovations of existing ones, planned?
• How are artifacts conserved for storage and display?
• Who packs them for loan or for traveling exhibitions?

The Smithsonian Office of Exhibits Central is the largest and most comprehensive exhibit producer for the Institution. Its staff creates permanent, temporary, and traveling exhibitions for museums, research centers, and offices throughout the Institution and for affiliated museums across the country. The Museum Conservation Institute acts as the Smithsonian's center for research and education in the conservation, preservation, and analysis of museum collections. Many of the larger museums also have their own design and fabrication shops that develop new exhibitions and their own staff conservators who care for collections.