The Channel Islands National Park Mainland Visitor Center exhibition was redesigned by The Henley Company as part of an overall renovation. The team provided the planning, exhibit design, and content development for new dioramas, graphics, signage, interpretive exhibits and audiovisual media. The new exhibition also brought the center into interpretive compliance with ADA requirements.
The team visited the islands to familiarize themselves with the resource and storyline. The exhibition provides a sense of what the islands are like (since most visitors will never actually set foot on them). The displays also serve to motivate those visitors with a strong interest to make the trip. Thematic scenic treatments enhance the live animal tidepool display. Tactile and computer interactives provide varied learning experiences.
The design was reviewed with local Chumash tribes. Content development included original subject and image research, as well as text writing and editing. Customized window graphics made use of natural light to create energy-saving backlit translucent “lightboxes.”
Lyn Henley: Planner, Researcher, Writer
Michael Palumbo: Conceptual Exhibit Designer
Valerie Faithorne: Exhibit Designer, Graphics Designer
Phyllis Persechini: Graphics Production Designer
Design Completed: 2009
Owner: National Park Service,
Channel Islands National Park, Ventura, CA
