Exhibit display of a historic photo of people sitting at long tables in the Japanese Hall

The Japanese Hall at the Legacy of the Plains Museum in Gering represents the story of Japanese immigrants in Nebraska and the High Plains. After moving the historic building four miles from its original site and restoring many of its original features, the Japanese Hall and History Project Advisory Council wanted to further activate the building to preserve and communicate this rich legacy.

Early exhibit planning and design work was done by Root House Studio prior to my involvement as part of the Upland Exhibits team which led to the substantial evolution of the plan and design.

Grouping of vertical interpretive panels attached to wood slats, kimonos on stands, and a large cylindrical display case
Displays range from Buddhist shrine to Heart Mountain internment camp

The Hall itself is the preeminent artifact, so we purposefully designed and constructed exhibit components to preserve as much visibility of the restored interior as possible. Maintaining a sight-line from the doorway of the main space across to the shrine at the other end was critical. We sought to create beautiful displays that complemented the building rather than invading and detracting from it.

Prominent “theme anchors” highlight the main points of each major topic throughout the space while smaller “flipper panels” on reader rails contain many specific stories for visitors that wish to explore more deeply. Distinctive cylindrical cases take the circular motif found throughout the exhibit to another level and shadow box style cases with interior lighting provide an elegant way to sprinkle artifacts across the space.

A range of displays from baseball catcher's pads to World War II V-Mail in blue and blue-green cases
Map of Japan with stickers and a log book on a freestanding structure made of cherry wood slats
Displays ranging from a pulpit to sports uniforms and trophies

The center area features a map that allows people to mark and log their connections with Japan, whether they are descended from a Japanese family or have other ties such as a Japanese friend or memory of visiting the country.

Grand Opening

The Japanese Hall reopened with much fanfare—or should I say taiko drumming—on June 8, 2024. Two notable dignitaries, the governor of Nebraska and the Japanese consul-general for the region were in attendance among hundreds of other visitors. The exhibits were packed, but it was a treat to see so many people engaging with the displays.

People stand in line at the entrance to the Hall
Vickie Sakurada Schaepler speaking in front of a crowd
A crowd of hundreds of people. The governor of Nebraska among them.
A woman points to a quilt on display
A woman shows a man a sticky note posted at a response station that has large printed questions and writing utensils
Women hunch over a reader rail to look closer
Many people view the exhibits. Artifacts and photos from internment camps are on display along with a map of camp locations.
Dozens of people fill the exhibit space
An especially elderly woman talks with another woman in front of a display case featuring a chef's jacket from the Eagle Cafe.

StoryHub

Originally devised as a way to expand the content as more stories come to light, the Story Hub has quickly become a favorite interactive element of the exhibit. Story Cards feature individual stories and many cards are also linked with related media. Tap a card to the reader and the related audio or video plays on the screen.

A man woman and child stand in front of a structure of wooden slats. Various small panels hang from posts and display many photos. A woman is grabbing one. A screen shows a man talking.

I designed the form of the structure and figured out the NFC technology from identifying the hardware through to programming the software. I also collaborated on the design and animation digital screen content.

Animation demonstrating how to tap the story cards to the reader

Process

My exhibit design work culminated in a comprehensive visualization of the displays within the Hall and a set of drawings covering design intent for all the components to be fabricated and installed.

Japanese Hall 3D Model Tour
Small sample of pages from the design plan document.

Unused Donor Wall Concept

Although we ultimately went a different direction for recognizing donors, I was quite pleased with an attempt to represent the donors in a form inspired by the traditional Japanese craft of kumiko which creates intricate geometric patterns with thin strips of wood.