In 2018, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM) closed its building on the National Mall for a massive renovation project. One of the most popular and beloved exhibit spaces not just in Washington, DC, but in the entire country was to receive a structural makeover. The building itself was expanded to create room for new galleries, and updated technological solutions were installed for artifact preservation. For four long years, the space for space history was a construction site.

Since 2022, NASM has been gradually reopening for visitors—and the lines to the main entrance can wrap around the corner of Independence Avenue and 7th Street by the 10am opening time. On July 26 this year, the museum held a friends-and-family event to allow a peek at some of the renovated and brand-new exhibits before they fully opened to the public. Historian of science Matt Shindell, curator of planetary science and exploration at NASM, shared some of the back story of reconceptualizing the museum.

Anna Doel: The museum itself has a history and is part of the history of American technology, science, and culture. Over the decades of its existence, whose/what kinds of stories has it represented? What does history of science contribute to these stories?

Matt Shindell: When the museum first opened to the public in 1976, aviation in America had existed for around 70 years, and spaceflight was very young—human spaceflight had only existed for about 15 years. If you came to the museum during its early years, you would have seen aircraft and spacecraft that had contributed to very recent transformations in the ways people traveled, experienced the world, and thought about our relationship to our Moon and solar system. The technology was front and center, along with the stories of famous pilots and astronauts, and together they presented a very optimistic view of the role of technology in scientific and cultural progress. This optimism is still present in our exhibitions today, but we now have five more decades of both progress and hindsight, as well as established fields of science and technology studies that provide more nuanced perspectives on aviation and space history. Today you’ll find more emphasis on the cultural dimensions of this history, more stories from the wider communities of people who make aviation and spaceflight possible, and historical interpretations that reflect the research done by scholars in the Aeronautics and Space History departments.

Doel: What are the most significant changes at NASM? What’s completely new? How are decisions made about what stays and what goes in the reimagined galleries?

Shindell: Every gallery we open has a team of people behind it. This team includes curators, educators, exhibit designers, media experts, and more. Curators are responsible for deciding what artifacts should be included in a gallery, whether it is a brand-new gallery or one that is being reimagined, but these decisions are made in conversation with the team. I had the pleasure of serving as lead curator on the team that designed our new Futures in Space exhibition. In the case of that gallery, we had to start from scratch in pulling together an exhibition concept, defining its main messages, themes, and learning goals, deciding what types of objects to include (and in many cases going out to find and collect the objects we needed), and then designing the physical exhibition. Our approach to this exhibition reflects some of the more general changes that have occurred throughout the museum. For example, we have developed digital interactives for all of the exhibitions that help to supplement and reinforce the themes and learning goals as well as introduce more people and stories than printed labels allow. We have also developed larger immersive experiences that feature video and sound. But the stars of our exhibitions are still the objects on display and the people associated with them.

Doel: Your own exhibition—what is its message, how did it come together, and what were the challenges in creating it? What does it tell viewers that they may not be aware of?

Shindell: Our exhibition, Futures in Space, is brand new, but in a certain sense it is attempting to recreate an aspect of the experience visitors had 50 years ago when the museum first opened and they came to see the technologies that were reshaping their world. Futures in Space features technologies shaping spaceflight today. Most of the technological artifacts we include in the gallery made headlines within the last decade or so. We use what is happening now or recently to frame a set of questions that structure the narrative of the gallery. These are questions that we feel will remain “evergreen” regardless of what happens next. We’ve broken these into three categories—“who,” “what,” and “why” questions—and dedicated a section of the gallery to each. In the “who” category, we explore who is going to space, who is sending them, who is developing technologies that are shaping the space economy, who is making decisions about space or governing space activities, etc. In the “what” section, we explore what kinds of homes we could build on the Moon or Mars, what materials will we need, what will life be like, what can robots do in orbit and beyond, and what work is being done now to develop new technologies. The “why” section is a large case filled with objects that articulate our motivations for wanting to do things in space, including scientific exploration, profit and industry, leisure and tourism, finding new places to live, fulfilling dreams, national pride and politics, etc.

Doel: Are there any Futures in Space artifacts that hold special meaning to you?

Shindell: I have a lot of favorites in this gallery. Everything we included is there because someone on the team was inspired or influenced by it. Among our popular culture artifacts, I have two favorites that come to mind. One is the R2-D2 replica built by Adam Savage that greets visitors as they come in the west entrance to the gallery and encounter the “What” section. R2-D2 is one of my favorite science fiction characters, and he is also one of the most widely appreciated fictional representations of the capabilities of space robotics. The other is the prop helmet worn by actor Frankie Adams in her portrayal of Martian Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Roberta “Bobby” Draper on The Expanse TV series. Several of us on the team are big fans of The Expanse as a show that plays with the social and cultural consequences of spaceflight. The helmet itself represents something we’ve not yet seen in space but has been a mainstay in science fiction—ground forces on other worlds—but it also speaks to things we have seen in space, such as nationalism, militarism, and spaceflight as geopolitics.

Doel: Historically, NASM has always had strong teams of scholars on curatorial staff. How is the current cohort led by Margaret Weitekamp engaging with the history of science and technology community? What are you looking forward to next year when the museum opens in its full glory?

Shindell: Everything the museum does begins with research—it informs our approach to collecting objects and conserving them, it defines our ability to produce exhibits and labels that are both accurate and meaningful, and it helps us to remain a leading institution in interpreting the history of aviation and spaceflight. Our Aeronautics and Space History departments are staffed by scholars with a diversity of backgrounds and training. Some, like me, have training in the history of science and science studies. Others are more affiliated with the history of technology. We also have curators with backgrounds in business history, cultural history, military history, European history, American studies, and more. Each of us has our own research program and book projects, and we remain engaged with the scholarly community through our research and our participation in societies. (I am currently the secretary of the History of Science Society). As a scholar, I can hardly imagine many other places where I could work with so many people focused on the history of science and technology. And it’s a great strength to be able to draw from this pool of diverse and deep expertise when collaborating on an exhibition or even just thinking through an article or book project.

In addition to our own work, we host pre- and postdoctoral fellows every year, which helps us to stay connected to trends in research. Along these lines, we also host our Contemporary History Seminar, which allows us to bring in outside speakers to share research they are doing in the field.

Anna Doel
American Institute of Physics
adoel@aip.org

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