Science Museum of Minnesota

Design

Mark Dahlager - Director of Exhibit Development and Design

Mr. Dahlager, Director of Development & Design, started at the Science Museum of Minnesota in 1989 developing programs and demonstrations performed throughout the museum. Mr. Dahlager has been developing exhibits since 1996 when he developed the environmentally-themed exhibit Green Streets; he was the lead developer for the Mississippi River Gallery (one of the long-term exhibitions in the new Science Museum) and is the Co-PI for Science Buzz (the Science Museum of Minnesota's award winning current science program). Mr. Dahlager is a principal in the World of Ecology project for the California Science Center and is currently serving as the Project Leader in partnership with COSI for Lost Egypt, a traveling exhibition for the Science Museum Exhibits Collaborative. Mr. Dahlager oversees all design and exhibit development efforts and a staff including Project Managers, Exhibit Designers, Graphic Designers, Multimedia Designers, and Exhibit Developers

Joel Back - Multimedia Designer

Joel Back has designed and produced interactive software programs, sound environment, and educational videos for all the permanent and traveling exhibits as well as outside clients since January of 2000. Using the Science Museum of Minnesota as an internship for his degree, Joel became a full-time employee upon graduation from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Joel's responsibilities have included design of computer hardware and software systems, and analog and digital interfaces for computer control.

Roger Barrett - Designer

Roger Barrett came to the Science Museum of Minnesota in 2000 as an internet developer and youth instructor in the museum's Learning Technologies Center, where he developed the Studio 3D website and taught courses for children ages preschool to high school in how playfully to integrate art and technology. In 2003, he joined the exhibits team, illustrating and designing graphics for the Robots and Us traveling exhibition. Since then, Mr. Barrett has designed graphics for the Science Museum of Minnesota's Current Science program, the Water Planet and Wild Music exhibitions, and external projects such as Explore Evolution. Mr. Barrett has also been the Lead Designer and art director for Science Buzz, NISEnet exhibits, Goosebumps: the Science of Fear, and is currently the lead designer for the World of Ecology project for the California Science Center. Mr. Barrett completed courses in graphic design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has a degree in Graphic Design from the City College of San Francisco.

David Evans - Multimedia Designer

Mr. Evans has designed and produced interactive software programs, sound environment, and educational videos for all the permanent and traveling exhibitions produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota since 1983. David's responsibilities have included design of computer hardware and software systems, analog and digital interfaces for computer control, feedback systems for interactive exhibits, and creation of websites to augment the on-sight visitor experience.

Cary Forss - Lighting Designer/Exhibit Designer

Mr. Forss has been with the museum since 1982. As installation designer for incoming traveling shows, Forss has designed the layout of more than two dozen exhibitions including additional elements which were produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota to augment the incoming exhibition. As lighting designer Forss has designed the lighting systems for all permanent halls at the Science Museum. He served as a lighting consultant to develop the lighting system and design for the new Orlando Science Center in Florida and for the International Wolf Center located in Ely, Minnesota. Forss was the exhibit designer assigned to the permanent Anthropology Hall in the old Science Museum facility for which he designed the Hmong Odyssey exhibit. In the new facility Forss designed the Human Body Gallery and the public lobby.

Christy Johnson - Graphic Designer

Ms. Johnson came to the Science Museum of Minnesota in February 2006. Prior to the museum, she worked at MSP Communications as an associate editor for Mpls. St.Paul Magazine and Twins Magazine, and also spent a short time as a graphic designer at LifeSource, a nonprofit that manages all aspects of organ and tissue donation in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Christy has worked on the RACE: Are We So Different?, Managing Light, and Science Buzz exhibits, and has created brochures for traveling exhibit sales. She earned a degree in mass communications, photojournalism emphasis, from St. Cloud State University, and an associate's degree in graphic design from The Art Institutes International Minnesota.

Margaret King - Graphic Designer

Ms. King joined the Science Museum of Minnesota in 1989 in the position of Graphics Coordinator. Her responsibilities included panel design and assembly, photographic production, silkscreening and vendor coordination, typesetting and digital printing. She has a broad range of experience and techniques. Ms. King's graphic panels and interactives have been featured in the Science Museum's successful touring exhibits Bionics & Transplants (1989), Bears: Imagination and Reality (1990), Antarctica (1992), Hunters of the Sky (1995), Traveling Experiment Gallery (1996), When Crocodiles Ruled (2000), Playing With Time (2002), and Robots and Us (2004). In the new facility Ms. King has created graphics for a wide range of exhibits such as the Human Body Gallery, Catalhoeyuek and Handling Calculus. In her present role as Graphic Project Manager she works with both museum and outside clients as a project lead and designer for small to medium size projects. Prior to her employment at the Science Museum, King was an artist at Biomedical Graphics at the University of Minnesota.

Dick Leerhoff - Senior Exhibit Designer

Mr. Leerhoff has designed most of the Science Museum's most successful exhibits since 1980. His designs include Wolves and Humans (1983), Bionics & Transplants (1989), Bears: Imagination and Reality (1990), Hunters of the Sky (1995), Traveling Experiment Gallery (1996), If These Walls Could Talk: The Real Life of Buildings (1998), and Robots and Us (2004). He is lead designer for the permanent galleries at the Science Museum of Minnesota.

Brent Shipley - Exhibit Designer

Mr. Shipley has been with the Science Museum of Minnesota since 1998. Mr. Shipley works with CAD (Computer Aid Drafting) featuring in 2D & 3D drawing, designing exhibits and working closely with designers, production managers, project leaders, fabricators, and prototypers to help define the need in interactive exhibits and plans drawing. Mr. Shipley worked on exhibits and floor plans for the new Science Museum of Minnesota facility, as well as projects for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Constitution Center, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and the California Science Center. Mr. Shipley has a B.S. degree in Art Education (K-12) from Saint Cloud State University and an A.A. degree in Mechanical Drafting from Century College.

Chach Sikes - Multimedia Designer

Chach joined the Science Museum in 2007. Her museum exhibits career began at the Exploratorium in 2004, where she worked as a web developer on such projects as Listen: Making Sense of Sound, Mind, and the Microscope Imaging Station. She also had taught 'Interactivity and Screen Design I' at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts. Prior to the Exploratorium, she worked at an e-Learning company, and with advertising agencies in New Orleans. She holds a degree in Anthropology and History from Bard College, 1997.

Craig Thiesen - Media Design Manager

Mr. Thiesen has been with the museum since October of 2000 and has participated in the planning and production of the multimedia components including Playing With Time, Mysteries of Catalhoeyuek, Robots and Us and the Digital River Basin projects.

Before coming to the museum, Thiesen was a freelance consultant specializing in digital media production, computer systems design and maintenance, and website planning and construction. Prior to that he spent 8 years as the photographer and production manager at Associated Images, a multimedia production company; and 3 years as the manager of a photographic service at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria.



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Design Mark Dahlager Joel Back Roger Barrett David Evans Cary Forss Christy Johnson Margaret King Dick Leerhoff Brent Shipley Chach Sikes Craig Thiesen Mark Dahlager - Director of Exhibit Development and Design Mr. Dahlager, Director of Development & Design, started at the Science Museum of Minnesota in 1989 developing programs and demonstrations performed throughout the museum. Mr. Dahlager has been developing exhibits since 1996 when he developed the environmentally-themed exhibit Green Streets; he was the lead developer for the Mississippi River Gallery (one of the long-term exhibitions in the new Science Museum) and is the Co-PI for Science Buzz (the Science Museum of Minnesota's award winning current science program). Mr. Dahlager is a principal in the World of Ecology project for the California Science Center and is currently serving as the Project Leader in partnership with COSI for Lost Egypt, a traveling exhibition for the Science Museum Exhibits Collaborative. Mr. Dahlager oversees all design and exhibit development efforts and a staff including Project Managers, Exhibit Designers, Graphic Designers, Multimedia Designers, and Exhibit Developers Joel Back - Multimedia Designer Joel Back has designed and produced interactive software programs, sound environment, and educational videos for all the permanent and traveling exhibits as well as outside clients since January of 2000. Using the Science Museum of Minnesota as an internship for his degree, Joel became a full-time employee upon graduation from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Joel's responsibilities have included design of computer hardware and software systems, and analog and digital interfaces for computer control. Roger Barrett - Designer Roger Barrett came to the Science Museum of Minnesota in 2000 as an internet developer and youth instructor in the museum's Learning Technologies Center, where he developed the Studio 3D website and taught courses for children ages preschool to high school in how playfully to integrate art and technology. In 2003, he joined the exhibits team, illustrating and designing graphics for the Robots and Us traveling exhibition. Since then, Mr. Barrett has designed graphics for the Science Museum of Minnesota's Current Science program, the Water Planet and Wild Music exhibitions, and external projects such as Explore Evolution. Mr. Barrett has also been the Lead Designer and art director for Science Buzz, NISEnet exhibits, Goosebumps: the Science of Fear, and is currently the lead designer for the World of Ecology project for the California Science Center. Mr. Barrett completed courses in graphic design at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has a degree in Graphic Design from the City College of San Francisco. David Evans - Multimedia Designer Mr. Evans has designed and produced interactive software programs, sound environment, and educational videos for all the permanent and traveling exhibitions produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota since 1983. David's responsibilities have included design of computer hardware and software systems, analog and digital interfaces for computer control, feedback systems for interactive exhibits, and creation of websites to augment the on-sight visitor experience. Cary Forss - Lighting Designer/Exhibit Designer Mr. Forss has been with the museum since 1982. As installation designer for incoming traveling shows, Forss has designed the layout of more than two dozen exhibitions including additional elements which were produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota to augment the incoming exhibition. As lighting designer Forss has designed the lighting systems for all permanent halls at the Science Museum. He served as a lighting consultant to develop the lighting system and design for the new Orlando Science Center in Florida and for the International Wolf Center located in Ely, Minnesota. Forss was the exhibit designer assigned to the permanent Anthropology Hall in the old Science Museum facility for which he designed the Hmong Odyssey exhibit. In the new facility Forss designed the Human Body Gallery and the public lobby. Christy Johnson - Graphic Designer Ms. Johnson came to the Science Museum of Minnesota in February 2006. Prior to the museum, she worked at MSP Communications as an associate editor for Mpls. St.Paul Magazine and Twins Magazine, and also spent a short time as a graphic designer at LifeSource, a nonprofit that manages all aspects of organ and tissue donation in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. Christy has worked on the RACE: Are We So Different?, Managing Light, and Science Buzz exhibits, and has created brochures for traveling exhibit sales. She earned a degree in mass communications, photojournalism emphasis, from St. Cloud State University, and an associate's degree in graphic design from The Art Institutes International Minnesota. Margaret King - Graphic Designer Ms. King joined the Science Museum of Minnesota in 1989 in the position of Graphics Coordinator. Her responsibilities included panel design and assembly, photographic production, silkscreening and vendor coordination, typesetting and digital printing. She has a broad range of experience and techniques. Ms. King's graphic panels and interactives have been featured in the Science Museum's successful touring exhibits Bionics & Transplants (1989), Bears: Imagination and Reality (1990), Antarctica (1992), Hunters of the Sky (1995), Traveling Experiment Gallery (1996), When Crocodiles Ruled (2000), Playing With Time (2002), and Robots and Us (2004). In the new facility Ms. King has created graphics for a wide range of exhibits such as the Human Body Gallery, Catalhoeyuek and Handling Calculus. In her present role as Graphic Project Manager she works with both museum and outside clients as a project lead and designer for small to medium size projects. Prior to her employment at the Science Museum, King was an artist at Biomedical Graphics at the University of Minnesota. Dick Leerhoff - Senior Exhibit Designer Mr. Leerhoff has designed most of the Science Museum's most successful exhibits since 1980. His designs include Wolves and Humans (1983), Bionics & Transplants (1989), Bears: Imagination and Reality (1990), Hunters of the Sky (1995), Traveling Experiment Gallery (1996), If These Walls Could Talk: The Real Life of Buildings (1998), and Robots and Us (2004). He is lead designer for the permanent galleries at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Brent Shipley - Exhibit Designer Mr. Shipley has been with the Science Museum of Minnesota since 1998. Mr. Shipley works with CAD (Computer Aid Drafting) featuring in 2D & 3D drawing, designing exhibits and working closely with designers, production managers, project leaders, fabricators, and prototypers to help define the need in interactive exhibits and plans drawing. Mr. Shipley worked on exhibits and floor plans for the new Science Museum of Minnesota facility, as well as projects for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Constitution Center, Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and the California Science Center. Mr. Shipley has a B.S. degree in Art Education (K-12) from Saint Cloud State University and an A.A. degree in Mechanical Drafting from Century College. Chach Sikes - Multimedia Designer Chach joined the Science Museum in 2007. Her museum exhibits career began at the Exploratorium in 2004, where she worked as a web developer on such projects as Listen: Making Sense of Sound, Mind, and the Microscope Imaging Station. She also had taught 'Interactivity and Screen Design I' at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts. Prior to the Exploratorium, she worked at an e-Learning company, and with advertising agencies in New Orleans. She holds a degree in Anthropology and History from Bard College, 1997. Craig Thiesen - Media Design Manager Mr. Thiesen has been with the museum since October of 2000 and has participated in the planning and production of the multimedia components including Playing With Time, Mysteries of Catalhoeyuek, Robots and Us and the Digital River Basin projects. Before coming to the museum, Thiesen was a freelance consultant specializing in digital media production, computer systems design and maintenance, and website planning and construction. Prior to that he spent 8 years as the photographer and production manager at Associated Images, a multimedia production company; and 3 years as the manager of a photographic service at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria. Mr. Thiesen has a B.A. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota. 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