Space News
space history and artifacts articles

Messages
space history discussion forums

Sightings
worldwide astronaut appearances

Resources
selected space history documents

  collectSPACE: Messages
  Hardware & Flown Items
  My new Apollo Gallery (David Meerman Scott)

Post New Topic  Post A Reply
profile | register | preferences | faq | search

next newest topic | next oldest topic
Author Topic:   My new Apollo Gallery (David Meerman Scott)
DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-05-2017 09:16 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I am doing a major renovation and addition project to my mid-century modern home so used this as an ideal opportunity to build a showcase for my collection of Apollo artifacts.

It was important to plan for where things would go from the start of the project more than two years ago. My wife and I set aside the original entrance hall as the gallery space and our architect, builder, and the various subcontractors all prepared from the start to build the gallery to my specifications.

I was fortunate to work with Bob Segal who helped with the design concepts and sourcing the materials.

We wanted there to be flow from other parts of the house to the gallery, so we hung my Alan Bean painting in the living room next to the stairs to the gallery and built a balcony that overlooks the gallery. Even though the gallery is a separate room, the Apollo theme is unified into the home but doesn't overwhelm it.

When we renovated the gallery area, we eliminated the windows and door to the outside so the gallery would be dark. The ceiling was set with strong beams to support the LM descent engine thrust chamber. There is electricity in all the right places so I could have the spotlights, artifact lighting, lighting in the cabinet, and sound effects with no wires visible.

Here are a few features of the gallery. Many were surprisingly cost effective:

  • The lunar images are from Mike at Moonpans and are printed on vinyl.

  • The flooring is a terrific color gray and is sold as garage flooring at Home Depot for $1.35 per square foot.

  • The image wash lighting at the top and bottom of the lunar images, spotlights in the ceiling, cabinet lights, red engine light in the LM descent engine thrust chamber, backlight for the CM star chart panel (flown on Apollo 9) and lighting around the CM window (flown on AS 201) are all centrally controlled via an integrated Lutron system. With one button, I can change "scenes". All of the switches and transformers are hidden under the stairs.

  • The wonderful rail system was sourced from Octanorm and the fittings for each artifact are custom built. This modular approach allows me to swap artifacts in and out of the gallery space or to remove and hide valuable artifacts - like the Apollo 12 flown rotational control handle - if I have a large party and don't want red wine to end up on it.

  • We went with black paint on the ceiling, back wall, and back door (which leads to the library). The smoke alarm housing will be swapped for black in a few weeks.

  • The cabinet system is from IKEA but is highly modified. It was purchased in the kitchen cabinet department and is two cabinets on top of one another with stainless steel drawer fronts added. We enclosed the stacked cabinets in MDF board painted black and also painted the wood around the glass doors in black. The lighting in these cabinets is terrific – IKEA sourced puck lights in the top to light the artifacts on the glass shelves and individual lights in each drawer to light up stuff in them when a drawer is opened. The entire cabinet system including lighting was under a thousand dollars.

  • There is a black Sonos 1 speaker hidden in the back corner, which I control with my iPhone to play NASA audio. I can cue up, say, Houston to spacecraft audio of the Apollo 11 landing.

  • And of course, as souvenirs for my VIP gallery visitors, on the floor in the corner I have a bunch a bunch of copies of my book Marketing the Moon which I wrote with Rich Jurek and Captain Gene Cernan (who did the foreword).
The biggest challenge I foresee is resisting the temptation to add too much stuff. The gallery works great because it's got breathing room. There are interesting things to look at but it is not overwhelming. Yes, I have many more artifacts I would love to bring out, but I need to keep reminding myself not to display them all at once. — David Meerman Scott (not the astronaut)

Robert Pearlman
Editor

Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-05-2017 09:20 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Robert Pearlman   Click Here to Email Robert Pearlman     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Absolutely gorgeous, David! This certainly sets a new bar for a home museum. Very impressive.

The rail system is very smart.

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-05-2017 09:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks Robert! It was a lot of work but the results are stunning. Visitors to my home enjoy looking at my collection much more now that it is not a pile of space junk in the corner. And my wife is pleased too!

rjurek349
Member

Posts: 1190
From: Northwest Indiana
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 03-05-2017 10:29 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for rjurek349   Click Here to Email rjurek349     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
David — amazing! And very well done. I love the elegance of it all, and the overall flow and feeling. And a wonderful tribute not only to Apollo, but to your passion for Apollo as well. The pivot from the Bean painting, to the artifact space is pure brilliance. Bravo!

Rick Mulheirn
Member

Posts: 4167
From: England
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 03-05-2017 10:48 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rick Mulheirn   Click Here to Email Rick Mulheirn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Awesome David.

spaced out
Member

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 03-05-2017 11:14 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Not bad for a first attempt... No just kidding - beautifully done. I definitely agree with the approach of not overdoing it. Keep some items out and rotate them around and leave thing uncluttered.

Can you tell me about the shadow-box displays for the pen and penlights in the display case?

Larry McGlynn
Member

Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 03-05-2017 11:34 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It is quite the gallery. It is the first purpose built home space gallery I have personally seen and it is amazing. It flows so well into the rest of the home.

As some might know, David and his Yukari, completely added to and restored a wonderful example of 1950s contemporary home architecture. This room was planned from the start. It is really well done.

ejectr
Member

Posts: 1751
From: Killingly, CT
Registered: Mar 2002

posted 03-05-2017 12:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ejectr   Click Here to Email ejectr     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Nicely done..! I wish I still lived in MA so I could go over and see it.

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-05-2017 01:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Chris, those are called NIMBUS boxes. I learned of them from Rich Jurek. They are really easy to use and come in many different sizes. They are a terrific way to display smaller hardware items.

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-05-2017 01:46 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for the kind words Larry. My house was built in 1958, the year after Sputnik 1. Everything in the original part of the house has that midcentury modern feel, so it goes really well with the Apollo theme.

spaced out
Member

Posts: 3110
From: Paris, France
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 03-05-2017 02:30 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for spaced out   Click Here to Email spaced out     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks David. I've seen similar things for tiny meteorite fragments but I didn't realize they could be scaled-up for use with larger heavier pieces like a flashlight. They look great in that cabinet.

mode1charlie
Member

Posts: 1169
From: Honolulu, HI
Registered: Sep 2010

posted 03-05-2017 02:37 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for mode1charlie   Click Here to Email mode1charlie     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very nicely done - kudos!

David Carey
Member

Posts: 782
From:
Registered: Mar 2009

posted 03-05-2017 03:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for David Carey   Click Here to Email David Carey     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Bravo, David! Looks fantastic.

SpaceAholic
Member

Posts: 4437
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-05-2017 04:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SpaceAholic   Click Here to Email SpaceAholic     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Marketing the Moon — Part Deux.

Congrats David.

Charlie16
Member

Posts: 494
From: Italy
Registered: Dec 2010

posted 03-05-2017 04:44 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Charlie16   Click Here to Email Charlie16     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
David, very nice collection, presented with great taste. Congratulations!

GACspaceguy
Member

Posts: 2474
From: Guyton, GA
Registered: Jan 2006

posted 03-05-2017 05:01 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for GACspaceguy   Click Here to Email GACspaceguy     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
My hat's off to you! Great flow and I love the murals.

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-06-2017 02:41 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you all. Scott, I know you recognize many of the artifacts!

mmmoo
Member

Posts: 551
From: London, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 03-06-2017 03:44 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for mmmoo   Click Here to Email mmmoo     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Wow! This look fantastic! Better than a lot of museums I've been too! Glad the images I supplied came out ok.

As far as home displays go, this one will be tough to beat!

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-06-2017 04:05 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you Mike! The lunar images are the anchor to the entire gallery. Thanks so much for your help!

Joel Katzowitz
Member

Posts: 808
From: Marietta GA USA
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 03-06-2017 07:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Joel Katzowitz   Click Here to Email Joel Katzowitz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Beautiful job David. Your design philosophy of keeping the presentation area uncluttered really makes the space (pun intended) work well. To paraphrase Einstein "Anyone can make things complex, but it takes a genius to make things simple".

What a great application of the Octanorm rail system. A good friend of mine is the president of Octanorm USA, looks like I need to give him a call and place an order.

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-06-2017 11:51 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Joel - please tell your friend that the Octanorm system is working great!

Jake
Member

Posts: 464
From: Issaquah, WA U.S.A.
Registered: Jun 2002

posted 03-06-2017 12:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Jake   Click Here to Email Jake     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Absolutely wonderful - well done...!

------------------
Jake Schultz - curator,
Newport Way Air Museum (OK, it's just my home)

Rocketman!
Member

Posts: 121
From: Redmond, Washington, USA
Registered: Dec 2007

posted 03-06-2017 01:58 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Rocketman!   Click Here to Email Rocketman!     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Outstanding, David! You've created a perfect space in which to display your impressive collection. It all works together very well.

And, from what we can see of the rest of the house, it looks beautiful. I like your choice in furnishings that complement the mid-century feel. I used to live in one of the few brick examples of a 1956 house in the Puget Sound region of Washington State. I often thought about the people who first owned that house, and the amazing things that came to be in the following years. Imagine what the original owners of your house would say if they were to be able to see how beautifully you have preserved and transformed it.

Greggy_D
Member

Posts: 977
From: Michigan
Registered: Jul 2006

posted 03-06-2017 05:35 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Greggy_D   Click Here to Email Greggy_D     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Looks like a great addition to your house, Dave! Well done on the execution!

SkyMan1958
Member

Posts: 867
From: CA.
Registered: Jan 2011

posted 03-06-2017 08:33 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for SkyMan1958   Click Here to Email SkyMan1958     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Very nice!

Ken Havekotte
Member

Posts: 2913
From: Merritt Island, Florida, Brevard
Registered: Mar 2001

posted 03-07-2017 06:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ken Havekotte   Click Here to Email Ken Havekotte     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Amazing! A museum-type "home" for an incredible display of aerospace memorabilia and supporting design graphics. What more can be said?

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-08-2017 03:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ken, coming from you that is high praise. Thanks!

garymilgrom
Member

Posts: 1966
From: Atlanta, GA
Registered: Feb 2007

posted 03-08-2017 08:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for garymilgrom   Click Here to Email garymilgrom     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Superb! Just gorgeous.

Gilbert
Member

Posts: 1328
From: Carrollton, GA USA
Registered: Jan 2003

posted 03-08-2017 03:10 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Gilbert   Click Here to Email Gilbert     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Absolutely amazing!

tegwilym
Member

Posts: 2331
From: Sturgeon Bay, WI
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-09-2017 01:08 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for tegwilym   Click Here to Email tegwilym     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Extremely space geeky --- I love it!

holcombeyates
Member

Posts: 243
From: UK
Registered: Dec 2010

posted 03-10-2017 05:29 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for holcombeyates   Click Here to Email holcombeyates     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Great Setup David. You must be delighted. Must show this to my wife.

How about changing out the staircase for an LM ladder complete with LM hatch to enter the exhibition space..!

space1
Member

Posts: 853
From: Danville, Ohio
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 03-10-2017 01:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for space1   Click Here to Email space1     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
So if this is the Apollo Gallery (and a fine one at that), is there another wing under construction to handle everything else?

DMScott
Member

Posts: 354
From: Lexington, MA, USA
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 03-10-2017 03:51 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for DMScott   Click Here to Email DMScott     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Mark, now that's an idea!

John, Yes, there is another wing. But it's boring compared to the gallery!

Larry McGlynn
Member

Posts: 1255
From: Boston, MA
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 03-10-2017 07:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Larry McGlynn   Click Here to Email Larry McGlynn     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I would disagree with you David on the rest of the house. You and Yukari did a spectacular job in renovating and enlarging the house while keeping the feel of the original architectural design.

NASAgoob
Member

Posts: 96
From: Dallas, Texas, USA
Registered: Oct 2008

posted 03-12-2017 11:00 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for NASAgoob   Click Here to Email NASAgoob     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
This is museum quality. Impressive!

All times are CT (US)

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Administrative Options: Close Topic | Archive/Move | Delete Topic
Post New Topic  Post A Reply
Hop to:

Contact Us | The Source for Space History & Artifacts

Copyright 2020 collectSPACE.com All rights reserved.


Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.47a





advertisement