As a generalist, I think the best thing about what I do is having the freedom to explore different topics. My museum-world projects have encompassed everything from jazz and veterinary medicine to civics and ecology. Other work ranges from corporate websites, membership brochures for nonprofits, branding guidelines, and even retail packaging.
Lockkeeper’s House, National Mall and Memorial Park
Photos: exterior by Yuhan Zhang; all others Trivium Interactive
Location: Washington, DC
Role: Content developer, script writer
Design and Media: Trivium Interactive
Built in 1837, at the intersection of the Washington City Canal and the C&O Canal, this house is the oldest structure on the National Mall. Originally, a lockkeeper lived here to raise and lower the gate-like lock between canals. The building was largely unoccupied from 1855 until the 2010s, when it was renovated into a visitor center about the history of the National Mall. As a member of Trivium Interactive’s team, I helped develop content and write scripts for film and interactive kiosk detailing the Mall’s remarkable transformation from swamp to “America’s front yard.”
Headwaters Center
Photos: Trivium Interactive
Location: Fraser, Colorado
Role: Content Developer, Text writer
Design: ECOS Communications
Media: Trivium Interactive
This small visitor center, nestled in the Rocky Mountains, focuses on one of the most important issues facing Colorado and the American West: water. The Fraser River, which runs behind the center, is a tributary of the mighty Colorado River, which drains all or part of seven states and runs through five U.S. states and two Mexican states. As a member of the media team, I helped developed the content and wrote copy for several hands-on interactives in the visitor center.
Harbor Way Park
Photos : Trivium Interactive
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Role: Content Developer, Text Writer
Design: Amaze Design
Media: Trivium Interactive
In 2016, Skanksa, a construction company, was building an office structure in Boston’s Seaport neighborhood when workers uncovered the remains of 19th-century schooner. The discovery sparked the idea for a small park outside the building featuring physical and virtual exhibits that provide context for the schooner’s story. Working the with exhibit designer (Amaze Design) and media designer (Trivium Interactive), Sarah developed content and wrote text that traced the neighborhood’s evolution from tidal salt marsh to a transportation hub … and then to a bustling residential, tourist, and business district.
Niagara Power Vista
Photos of exhibits: Trivium Interactive
Location: Lewiston, New York
Role: Content Developer, Text writer
Exhibit Design: Hadley Exhibits
Media: Boston Productions, Inc.
This visitor center, located a short distance downstream from Niagara Falls, overlooks the Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station. Both plant and visitor center are owned and operated by the New York Power Authority (NYPA). As a member of the Boston Productions team (led by Bruce Spero and Kirsten Holmes, who now have their own company, Trivium Interactive), I helped develop and script 10 interactives that explored the history of NYPA, the engineering behind the power station, and the story of the station’s energy source: the mighty Niagara River.
Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Role: Text writer
Exhibit Design: ESI Design
Media: Richard Lewis Media Group
The Institute, in its own words, “is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, [and] invigorating civil discourse.” Working for media producer, the Richard Lewis Media Group, I wrote much of the text on display throughout the museum, highlighting milestone legislation and exploring the history and culture of the Senate.
“Pack It Up, Pioneer,” Indiana State Museum
Photos: Trivium Interactive
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana
Role: Content developer, text writer
Media: Trivium Interactive
As part of a museum-wide celebration of Indiana’s bicentennial, Trivium designed an unusual interactive experience: a touchscreen paired with a replica pioneer’s wagon. Visitors use the touchscreen to select the items they will take with them on their journey to Indiana Territory—they pack the “real” wagon with virtual items. I worked closely with museum curators to select and describe period-specific essentials and luxuries that settlers may have carried with them.
American Wing, Metropolitan Museum of Art: period room kiosks
Location: New York City, New York
Role: Content developer, text editor
Design: Small Design Firm
I was part of Small Design Firm’s team in helping the American Wing visualize new ways to interpret its collections and orient visitors. The resulting plan was implemented over several years, and included new multi-media kiosks for the American Wing’s famous period rooms. The kiosks offer information about the origins of each room, the objects in it, the people who once lived there, and how the room came to the museum. I helped create the content structure of the kiosks, and then edited text supplied by curators. Holland Cotter of The New York Times called the kiosks “some of the best digital displays I’ve seen in any museum.”
Harley-Davidson Museum: interactive stations
photos: Belle & Wissell
Location: Milwaukee, WIsconsin
Role: Content developer, text writer
Design: Pentagram Design (exhibits); Belle + Wissell Co. (interactive media)
The Harley-Davidson Motor Company hired me to develop and write both panel text and interactive media for the legendary motorcycle company’s new museum in downtown Milwaukee. I wrote descriptive labels for all of the motorcycles on display, ranging from the earliest existent Harley bike (dating back to 1903) to the newest models. I created content for 11 multimedia interactive components highlighting riders who shaped Harley history and exploring how motorcycles are designed.
Nobel Peace Prize Museum: “magic book”
photos: Small Design Firm
Location: Oslo, Norway
Role: Content developer, writer
Design: Small Design Firm
I worked with Small Design Firm, an interactive design company, to organize content and craft text for a visitor-activated, multi-media exhibit about Alfred Nobel, the Prize's enigmatic benefactor and founder.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences: interactive stations
photos: Small Design Firm
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Role: Content developer, text writer
Designer: Small Design Firm
The museum’s 80,000 square-foot Nature Research Center brings “research scientists and their work into the public eye.” The many exhibits include six interactive multimedia stations created by Small Design Firm and written by me. Topics include DNA analysis, fossils, water quality, and weather forecasting. The most complex interactive is a “magic table” that offers visitors many levels of information about animals native to North Carolina.