Building the Sant Ocean Hall: Interviews with the Exhibit Team

The Sant Ocean Hall is the National Museum of Natural History's largest exhibit, providing visitors with a unique and breathtaking introduction to the majesty of the ocean

CREDIT: Flickr User M.V. Jantzen

Building the Smithsonian's Sant Ocean Hall--like any major exhibition--was a major undertaking. Over the course of five years, it required hundreds of people with a vast array of skills and backgrounds. Many of these people worked on one aspect of the exhibit, such as the whale model, the fabrication, or the writing.

A team from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) worked closely with the National Museum of Natural History to apply the agency's science, expertise and resources to the challenge of design and development of the immense story of the global ocean.

One group of people, however, shaped the project form start to finish. The Ocean Hall Core Team directed the content of the exhibit, coordinated selection of all specimens, and approved all design and text. They shaped the Ocean Hall exhibit.  Listen to these podcasts from the exhibit team to learn more about their experiences while building the Ocean Hall.