Where does all that fun, curious stuff in museums come from?
Here’s a backstage tour that surveys one studio’s origins, history, and creative output.
Click BIO to trace themes in Jeff’s life that matured into a creative career.
The exhibitions listed below trace a career spanning some 42 years and 77 projects.
Much gratitude to the many who helped bring this to life.
2007 –
Lady Justice
20th Circuit Court, Ottawa County, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – April 2014
USS Flier
USS Silversides Submarine Museum, Muskegon, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – Memorial Day 2013
Auto Mechanics
Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – April 2012
Saylorville Lake Visitor Center
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, Saylorville Lake, IA
exhibition design & technical fabrication – October 2012
Franklin Motor Car Collection
Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – May 2010
Eagle Nest Lake Visitor Center
New Mexico State Parks, Santa Fe, NM
exhibition design & fabrication – August 2009
Edwin Carter Museum
Breckenridge Heritage Alliance, Breckenridge, CO
exhibition design & fabrication – March 2009
Gilmore Car Museum
Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, MI
exhibition design – March 2002 to February 2008
Sit Down
Sloan Museum, Flint, MI
exhibition design & fabrication — Labor Day 2007
History Gallery
Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Kalamazoo, MI
concept design & plan – July 2006 to April 2007
2001 – 2007
Netherlands Gallery
Holland Museum, Holland, MI
exhibition design – April 2007
Space Experience
Air Zoo, Kalamazoo, MI
masterplanning, exhibition design & fabrication – June 2007
Pawnee National Grassland Visitor Center
Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forest US Forest Service, Ft. Collins CO
exhibition design & technical fabrication – December 2006
Collecting A to Z
Public Museum of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, MI
exhibition design – January 2005
EL Pilar Mayan Site, Belize
Meso-American Research Center, Prof. Anabel Ford, UC Santa Barbara
interpretive planning on site, with Frederick Usher – April 2004
Sky Entry, Missions Theater, & Sentinels at Sea
Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Center, Portage, MI
exhibition design & scenic treatments – May 2004
Justice Learning Center
Michigan Supreme Court, Lansing, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – October 2002
The Magic Heart – Thoracic Park
Discovery Center Science Museum, Fort Collins, CO
exhibition design & fabrication – July 2002
Detroit Science Center
Detroit Science Center Masterplanning & Concept, Detroit, MI
renovation masterplanning & conceptual exhibition design – July 2001
Solve-It Central
Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – April 2001
1998 – 2000
Roundhouse Backshop, Greenfield Village
The Henry Ford, Dearborn, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – June 2000
The Healer Within
Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kirksville MO
exhibition design & fabrication – January 2000
Belle Isle Nature Center Exhibition
Belle Isle Nature Center, Detroit, MI
exhibition design – August 1999
Big Sioux Riverbanks, Peak Performance, & Digital Discoveries June 1999
Kirby Science Discovery Center, Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science
Sioux Falls, SD – exhibition design – June 1999
Emmet, Heritage & Hurst Discovery Areas
Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – December 1998
Mars Pathfinder Mission
Michigan Space & Science Center, Jackson, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – October 1998
Southern Environmental Center
Birmingham Southern College, Birmingham, AL
masterplanning & exhibition design – September 1998
Ambulatory Care Center
Battle Creek Health System, Battle Creek, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – February 1998
Salt of the Earth
Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – February 1998
Michigan Space and Science Center
Michigan Space and Science Center, Jackson, MI
renovation masterplan & exhibition design – January 1998
1994 – 1997
Automotive Hall of Fame
Automotive Hall of Fame, Dearborn, MI
renovation masterplan & conceptual design – August 1997
How We Live With the Sun
Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ
exhibition design & technical fabrication – April 1997
Nature Up Close
Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo, MI
renovation masterplan, exhibition design & fabrication – April 1997
Mind, Body, Health
Fetzer Institute, Kalamazoo, MI
conceptual design – December 1996
Jim Crow Museum
Ferris State University, Prof. David Pilgrim, Big Rapids, MI
planning & concept development – April 1996
The Great Tomato Works
Lake Metroparks Farmpark, Kirtland, Ohio
exhibition design & fabrication – July 1995
Seeder Memorial Holocaust Torah
Congregation of Moses, Kalamazoo, MI
exhibition design & fabrication – June 1995
MOSI Tampa, Florida
MOSI — Museum of Science & Industry, Tampa, Florida
masterplan consulting – October 1993 to December 1994
Hall of Ideas
Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI
renovation masterplanning & exhibition design – November 1994
Rain Forest Aerial Tram
Docel Corp., San Jose, Costa Rica
interpretive programming & exhibition design – October 1994
The Gift of Rights to Children
UNICEF, United Nations, New York, NY
exhibition design – August 1994
Jeff Bernstein Exhibition Design, Inc. incorporated in Michigan in June, 1994.
Before that, Jeff Bernstein had been a partner in Rogow + Bernstein, a Los Angeles based exhibition design and fabrication firm established in May, 1977.
1990 – 1994
Thunderstorm Detectives
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO
exhibition design & technical fabrication — December, 1993
Exhibition Development Symposium
The Henry Ford, Dearborn, MI
lectures on exhibition design — August, 1993
National Postal Museum
National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
masterplanning & conceptual exhibition design — July, 1993
The Jewish Museum Core Exhibition
The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
masterplanning & exhibition design, June, 1993
Holocaust Museum Houston
Holocaust Museum, Houston, TX
masterplanning & conceptual exhibition design — June, 1993
Local History Exhibition & Willard C. Wichers GAllery
Holland Museum, Holland, MI
exhibition design & fabrication — December, 1992
Chattahoochee Riverwalk
Uptown Columbus, Columbus, GA
exhibition design & fabrication — Columbus Day, 1992
Experimentarium
Experimentarium, Copenhagen, Denmark
masterplanning & conceptual exhibition design — January, 1991
Familia Y Fe
International Museum of Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
exhibition design — November, 1990
Saint Louis Zoo Exhibits
Saint Louis Zoo, Forest Park, Saint Louis, MO
exhibition design — July, 1990
Information Age
National Museum of American History
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
masterplanning & exhibition design — May, 1990
1985 – 1989
Mission Inn Galleria
Mission Inn Foundation, Riverside, CA
exhibition design & fabrication — May, 1989
Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum
Boyce Thompson Southwestern Arboretum, Superior, AZ
exhibition design & fabrication — May, 1988
Hands-On Physics
Science Place, Fair Park, Dallas, TX
exhibition design & fabrication — May, 1988
Bicentennial Riverwalk
Cincinnati Bicentennial Commission, Cincinnati, OH
exhibition design — April, 1988
Santa Ana Zoo
City of Santa Ana, CA
exhibition design — March, 1988
Huntington Library Exhibition Hall
The Huntington, San Marino, CA
exhibition design & fabrication — December, 1987
Systematica
Louisville Museum of History and Science, Louisville, KY
exhibition design & fabrication — August, 1987
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
National Park Service (regional office), Anchorage, AK
exhibition design — May, 1987
Tide Pool & Chaparral Communities
U.S. Department of the Interior, San Diego, CA
exhibition design — October, 1986
Martin Luther King, Jr.
National Park Service, Washington, DC
exhibition design & graphic production — May, 1986
Sesame Place
Children’s Television Workshop and Busch Entertainment Corp., St. Louis, MO
water feature design & fabrication — May, 1985
1981 – 1984
Sea Center
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA
masterplan & conceptual exhibition design — November, 1984
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA
conceptual exhibition design — October, 1984
Computerworks
California Museum of Science & Industry, Los Angeles, CA
exhibition design & fabrication — August, 1984
Ted Shanks Wildlife Management Area Visitors Center
State of Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, MO
exhibition design & fabrication — July, 1984
First Interstate Athletic Foundation Sports Museum
First Interstate Bank Athletic Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
exhibition design & fabrication — June, 1984
Falls of the Ohio
Louisville Museum of History and Science, Louisville, KY
exhibition design — April, 1984
Chips & Changes
Association of Science – Technology Centers, Washington, DC
exhibition design & fabrication — March, 1984
Burr Oak Woods Nature Center
State of Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, MO
exhibition design & fabrication — September, 1983
California Museum of Science & Industry
California Museum of Science & Industry, Los Angeles, CA
renovation masterplan — August, 1983
Science Activity Center
California Museum of Science & Industry, Los Angeles, CA
exhibition design — May, 1983
1977 – 1981
The Cove Communities
Palm Desert Historical Society, Palm Desert, CA
exhibition design & fabrication — October, 1981
Solar Energy Research Institute Visitors Center
Solar Energy Research Institute, Golden, CO
exhibition design — September, 1981
American Museums
U. S. Information Agency, Washington, DC
exhibition design — May, 1981
Hong Kong Solar Observatory
Walter Landor & Assoc., San Francisco, CA
exhibition design — August, 1980
Historic Los Angeles
Los Angeles Conservancy, Los Angeles, CA
exhibition design & graphic production — July, 1980
Flight!
Los Angeles County Fair, Pomona, CA
exhibition design & fabrication — September, 1979
Hello America!
Pacific Telephone, San Francisco, CA
exhibition design — April, 1979
Techno-Yes!
California Office of Appropriate Technology, Sacramento, CA
exhibition design & technical fabrication — July, 1978
H2Oh!
Department of Water Resources, State of California, Sacramento, CA
exhibition design & technical fabrication — July, 1977
Before co-founding Rogow + Bernstein in May, 1977, Jeff Bernstein had worked on several exhibition and industrial design projects for other firms.
In addition to design work, Jeff developed experimental art projects and, until 1973, was a physiological psychology PhD candidate at UCLA.
1974 – 1977
Singapore Science Centre
Herb Rosenthal & Associates, Los Angeles, CA
masterplanning & exhibition design — December, 1977
FX Costuming
Norman Lear / Tandem Productions, Los Angeles, CA
special effects design & fabrication
with Rita Riggs & John Williams— May, 1977
Electricity
California Museum of Science & Industry, Los Angeles, CA
Bruce Burdick & Associates, Los Angeles, CA
exhibition design — February, 1975
City Building Educational Program
Doreen Gehry Nelson with Frederick Usher
funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
editing & graphics assistance — Spring, 1974
1968 – 1973
Sea World, Orlando
John Follis Associates, Los Angeles, CA
exhibition design with Frederick Usher — December, 1973
Hollywood Bowl Renovation, Easy Edges Furniture, & More
Frank Gehry Associates, Brentwood, California
industrial design & materials research — 1969 to 1971
Canadian Pavilion, Osaka ’70
Jeffrey Lindsay Associates, Los Angeles, CA
industrial design — March to July, 1968
HUD Low-Cost Quality Dwelling Competition
B. A. Berkus Associates with Juan Espinoza, Los Angeles
for Christiana Oil’s entry in the HUD Competition
industrial design — April to September, 1968