In August 2018, our Exhibit Fabrication studio officially opened, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included the Governor of New Mexico and other state and county officials. While they and we had very high expectations for our new venture, I have been blown away by the work that our Fabrication group (both past and present) has been able to accomplish. Our skills and capabilities have expanded; we’ve learned a lot, improved, and better equipped the Exhibit Fabrication studio.

‍

In 2018, we had one fabrication project as the new space opened: a pair of custom touch tables for the Science Museum London. Due to the pandemic, I didn’t see the installation in Medicine Gallery until last year! Since that first project, we’ve been fortunate to work on various fabrication projects involving different form factors, materials, and embedded technology. Here’s a round-up of some of the more interesting fab projects we’ve completed:

‍

Giant Display Cases for New Mexico History Museum - Ideum fabricated two massive display cases for the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe.

Fossil Block Theater for North Carolina Museum of Natural Science - We developed three exhibits for the NCMNS Dueling Dinos exhibition, including Fossil Block Theater, a fabricated 14' 3D replica of the fossil pair overlaid with mapped projections.

‍Interactive Towers for Monterey Bay Aquarium - Custom touch-screen towers help support the Aquarium’s award-winning Deep Sea exhibition.

Rio Salado Audubon Exhibit - We designed and developed a series of fabricated exhibits for the Rio Salado Audubon Center in Phoenix.

Ebbets Field Interactive Scale Model - Developed for the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City, we created an interactive scale model and accompanying AV for this centerpiece exhibit.

Valle de Oro Exhibition - Ideum designed and developed the exhibition, including custom-fabricated exhibits and furniture.

‍NM Film Kiosk for ABQ Airport - We designed and fabricated a two-screen kiosk with custom software for the New Mexico Film Office.

Interactive Exhibits at San Diego Zoo - We fabricated a couple of custom microscope stations and custom touch tables as part of the exhibit design and development we led for their new children’s zoo.

‍Massive Marble Touch Table - Working with IDEO and Gensler, we developed a 21-foot-long touch table clad in Italian marble with three embedded 86” displays.

‍

Our Exhibit Fabrication group now also supports product development. Our new Reader Rail starts in our fabrication group and is later integrated with our products by our hardware Workshop. We also plan on doing much of the fabrication for our new Tasting Table, which will be announced later this month.

‍

We’ve worked hard to improve the Fabrication Studio and its equipment, along with great projects and products. When we purchased the building in early 2018, it was in foreclosure and had been a bit of an eyesore for a few years. The building has been completely renovated with a new HVAC system, new floors, new stucco, and all fabrication tools, including CNC, laser cutter, mill, welding equipment, forklift, and a complete set of woodworking tools.