Honor Award
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
Location
American Museum of Natural History, New York
Design Firm
AMNH Exhibition Department
Client
American Museum of Natural History
Design Team
David Harvey (Principal in Charge), Paul DePass, Lauri Halderman, Jayne Hertko, Stephanie Reyer, Joey Stein, James Stoop, Joel Sweimler
Curatorial Team
Caroline Alexander (guest curator); Ross D.E. MacPhee (AMNH curator)
Fabricators
Showman Fabricators
The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition was the most comprehensive presentation ever mounted to describe the epic story of the 1914 expedition led by Sir Ernest Shackleton on the ship Endurance. The primary focus of the exhibition was the visual record created by the expedition photographer Frank Hurley, which included 150 photographs and original film footage. This material gave visitors a sense of the life-and-death perils experienced by expedition members. Surviving artifacts, including the actual lifeboat that carried Shackleton and five crew members to safety, further brought to life this dramatic 20th-century saga. Visitors used a sextant to try their hand at navigating under the difficult conditions the men confronted. Rounding out the story, several videos examined the historical, geographic and scientific context of this unique voyage during the heroic age of polar exploration.
Jury Comment
The presentation of Shackleton's odyssey is absolutely compelling with photographs, video, artifacts and hands-on interactive very well integrated. This project is a great example of where substantial text is well presented and riveting.