Oversized beadwork rose graphic

Written on the Land: Ute Voices, Ute History

History Colorado Center
Denver, CO

Bringing the rich cultural history of the Ute Indian tribes to a new, Denver-based exhibit.

In 2018, EDX worked with History Colorado to design Written on the Land: Ute Voices, Ute History—based on permanent exhibits at the Ute Indian history Museum in Montrose, CO. The exhibit tells the story of the contemporary Ute peoples’ connections to the Rocky Mountains through hundreds of artifacts and interactive exhibit elements. The exhibit space in Denver encompasses 3,400 square feet. New elements include an atrium exhibit, expanded entry exhibit, STEM interactive stations, gathering space for field trip student groups, and information on local Denver content.

A bright mural on the wall over a map of the river

Big Bend Rio Grande Village

Big Bend National Park, TX

Highlighting river ecology and international cooperation to preserve unique natural resources.

The Rio Grande Village Visitor Center sits on the edge of the river whose dramatic bend gives Big Bend National Park its name. This is a premier spot for birding and other wildlife sightings, and it is also a unique point of cultural reflection. EDX designed exhibits that highlight the ongoing efforts between the US and Mexico to preserve this stunning and complex landscape. Outdoor orientation exhibits and plaza elements are designed to serve visitors year-round, enhancing their understanding of the Rio’s bustling ecosystem.

EDX has designed five additional visitor centers at Big Bend National Park. They include: Magdalena House Visitor Center, focused on cultural history along the border between US and Mexico; Chisos Basin Visitor Center, highlighting the diversity of animals and habitats in the park; Persimmon Gap Visitor Center, orienting new visitors to the park; Panther Junction Visitor Center, interpreting the natural history of the mountains, river, and desert; and Fossil Discovery Exhibit, a unique open-air, sustainable facility, that interprets the park’s rich paleontological history.

Realistic statues of a goat and chickens outside of an old building.

Big Bend Magdalena House

Big Bend National Park, TX

A cross-cultural history in a place of natural desert beauty.

Big Bend National Park boasts spectacular scenery, diverse wildlife, and a rich, cross-border cultural history. Magdalena House was named after Magdalena Silvas, a Mexican-American cook who lived here and raised her family in the early 20th century. Exhibits explore life in this isolated area when people of diverse cultures and backgrounds moved easily across the Rio Grande between the US and Mexico.

EDX has designed five additional visitor centers at Big Bend National Park. They include: Rio Grande Village Visitor Center, focused on the ecology of the river, and highlighting the history of bi-national cooperation between the US and Mexico; Chisos Basin Visitor Center, highlighting the diversity of animals and habitats in the park; Persimmon Gap Visitor Center, orienting new visitors to the park; Panther Junction Visitor Center, interpreting the natural history of the mountains, river, and desert; and Fossil Discovery Exhibit, a unique open-air, sustainable facility, that interprets the park’s rich paleontological history.

A man stands underneath a spotlight in the exhibit space

Burke Museum – Wild Nearby

Burke Museum of Natural History
Seattle, WA

Experience the wild nearby. Empowering new explorers to discover the North Cascades.

This temporary exhibit for the Burke Museum highlighted the ways that the North Cascades ecosystem is constantly changing. In Wild Nearby, visitors are empowered to explore the natural world through the lens of recent research of the North Cascades.

Stunning photography by local artists and a re-created North Cascades fire lookout—created by a local artist—were highlights of the exhibit. Iconic park scenes defined exhibit theme areas while discoverable elements placed throughout the exhibits engaged visitors.

Sketch of people walking on path along exhibits and people fishing

Snake River Interpretive Plan and Exhibit Design

Snake River Gateways
Grand Teton National Park, WY

Interpreting the Snake River corridor connecting stunning landscapes, intact ecosystems, and diverse human experiences.

The Snake River—tranquil and serene, mighty and powerful— gives Grand Teton National Park life. The river runs through the entirety of the park from headwaters in Yellowstone National Park to the park’s south boundary, travelling over 1,000 miles to the Columbia River and and the Pacific Ocean.

To enhance the experience of visitors who fish, kayak, canoe, and raft this beautiful and dynamic river, EDX is working with the park and the Grand Teton National Park Foundation to enhance interpretation at 10 sites along the Snake River corridor—creating a sequence of meaningful visitor experiences.

Sketch of diorama with bison

Wind Cave National Park Visitor Center

Hot Springs, SD

Stories of rich cultures and a complex ecosystem link worlds, above and below ground.

Wind Cave National Park, located in southwestern South Dakota, is the country’s eighth national park. Originally designated to protect the cave, the park now also protects one of the largest remaining mixed-grass prairies in the Black Hills. The cave is an extensive, complex network that includes miles of underground passageways interconnected in a tangled knot and connected to the above-ground world in surprising ways. Prairie wildlife include bison, elk, pronghorn, deer, mountain lion, prairie dog, and the endangered black-footed ferret.

EDX-designed exhibits shed light on the geology of the cave, its cultural significance to the Lakota and other American Indian tribes, the rich natural environment, and the ways in which these stories are intricately connected—above and below ground. The exhibits provide ADA-compliant experiences for all visitors. Oral histories and traditions from American Indian tribes educate visitors on the important cultural significance of Wind Cave to different peoples.

Sketch showing diorama island in center of exhibits

Great Sand Dunes National Park Visitor Center

Mosca, CO

Exploring the unique plants, animals, and people who make a home among some of the world’s most impressive sand dunes.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve encompasses over 234 square miles of diverse landscapes and ecosystems. From the San Luis Valley at 7,500 feet to the 14,000-foot summits of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the park encompasses grasslands, wetlands, conifer and aspen forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. New EDX-designed exhibits highlight the diversity of the park’s ecosystems and history through stunning dioramas, interactive tactile elements, and an immersive night-sky experience.

 

Sketch showing visitors peering at a volcano cross section

Crater Lake National Park

Klamath County, OR

A place of immense beauty to awaken our imagination and curiosity seeped in the wonders of the natural world.

Crater Lake National Park, established in 1902, is located in southwest Oregon in the south-central portion of the Cascade Range. Exhibits under design highlight the park’s unique geologic history and rich natural environment through memorable hands-on immersive zones. Features include an eye-catching 3D replica and cross-section of pre-eruption Mt. Mazama that connects two floors, a dramatic 180 degree “Eruption Theater” experience, and exploratory dioramas capturing four seasons of the natural world at Crater Lake.

Kenai Fjords National Park

Seward, AK

Envisioning the future of a park and its glacial landscape.

At Kenai Fjords, EDX was tasked with creating a realistic ten-year interpretive plan for one of Alaska’s most accessible national parks. In this stunning setting, visitors can come face to face with a receding glacier and spot whales and seabirds on boat tours of the fjords. But despite these exciting experiences, the park lacked a dynamic central hub in the city of Seward. EDX created a plan that jointly addresses plans in progress for a large-scale visitor center, as well as ways to better use a current information center in Seward’s downtown.

To highlight the relevance of this park to issues such as climate change, EDX worked with park staff and stakeholders to refine the interpretive themes around the park’s significant features.

By helping Kenai Fjords develop broad and specific goals for the next ten years, EDX established a clear path to fulfilling the potential of one of the state’s great parks.

Escalante Heritage Center

Escalante, Utah

Rising to challenges in a rugged, isolated pioneer town.

The Escalante Heritage Center’s mission is to preserve and share the history of one of the country’s most remote regions. With a focus on the Mormon settlers who established the first permanent settlements, the center’s stories are of hardship overcome, community spirit, great faith, and enduring love for a sublime landscape. EDX helped the Center to formalize their interpretive planning framework before developing an exhibit concept plan for interactive, multimedia exhibits with integrated video experiences.

The architectural firm of Naylor Wentworth Lund has created building designs that seamlessly integrate exhibits within a dramatic building overlooking the Escalante Valley. EDX created an exhibit concept plan, now a key component of fundraising efforts to implement the site and exhibits.