Interpretive Exhibits Coordinator
Please tell our readers a little about yourself.
My name is Tim Pula. I grew up in the Orlando, Florida, area but now live just outside of Washington D.C. As a young child, I loved going to museums and science centers.
Now I am part of the Spark!Lab team at the Smithsonian, where I continue my work of creating open-ended hands-on activities. The activities I get to create here are focused on the process and steps of invention. I really feel lucky that I get paid for playing with toys and creating fun things for museum visitors to explore.
The Smithsonian is often referred to as the nation’s attic. Why is that?
Much like the collection of stuff in a family’s attic, the Smithsonian’s collection is large and varied. There are over 137 million objects in the Smithsonian collection. The Smithsonian’s objects tell stories about who we were in the past, who we are now and who we may become in the future. However, unlike an attic, our collections are stored in state-of-the-art facilities and are constantly being used. We are always learning new things here!
What is it that you do at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History?
I work in the Spark!Lab which is part of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. My official title is Interpretive Exhibits Coordinator. I play with toys, manipulate materials, write simple computer programs and build cool stuff for museum visitors to use. All of the activities I work with or create are designed to let our visitors engage in the process of invention using their own ideas and creative problem-solving skills. I also work to ensure that our activities connect in some way to our museum’s collection or work being done through the Lemelson Center.
When and how did you know you wanted to work at the Smithsonian?
When I was about seven, my family traveled to Maryland to visit an uncle and his family. One of our excursions during this visit was to Washington D.C. I still remember the overload of amazing things I saw as we visited at least three of the Smithsonian museums on the National Mall. My most vivid memory, though, is of the full size Triceratops that was outside of the Natural History Museum. I was fascinated by dinosaurs and this was the first full-size, fleshed out model of one I had ever seen. I still have a photo taken of me sitting on that dinosaur. That experience along with all of the other amazing artifacts and collections had me hooked.
When I started working at a science museum in 2003 I was continually reminded of the work and collections of the Smithsonian, though I did not expect that my career path would really take me there. Wow, it so amazing to be able to say, “I work at the Smithsonian.”
What do you love most about your job?
Watching a visitor thoroughly engaged in an activity while family members take photos of their experience. When I see that someone is engaged in the activity they are doing, the experience that most often follows is a pride in what they invented or created. This is due to an “I can do this attitude” that you can’t get from following step by step instructions. The visitor has used their own ideas and imagination to invent something. The end product is their idea.
What is something challenging about your job?
We will likely have over 300,000 visitors each year interact with the things I create. The biggest challenge of my job is keeping activities operational. In a busy hands-on museum space, activities can easily become what we call “highly loved.” I spend about 80 percent of my building and design time trying to figure out how to make an activity last. I have often explained the situation this way to adults: Imagine you are having a 1,000 or so kids over for about eight hours to learn and play, every day. This is what our activities and museum space experience.
What is your favorite exhibit in The National Museum of American History and why?
My favorite exhibit has to be America on the Move. I love machines that move. I do, however, have a few favorite collection objects that are not in America on the Move. One of these objects is the Joseph Ellicott tall case clock from 1769. This clock not only tells time it also shows the phases of the moon, depicts the positions of the sun, earth moon and planets and plays 24 different tunes. My other favorite object is an automaton friar which was likely made over 450 years ago. The friar is a wind up character that walks and performs motions that would be common of a friar from the 1500s. The clock and the friar are inspirational for me.
Why is it important for people to learn about our nation’s history?
It is important to learn about our nation’s history so that we can learn from the experiences of the past. When we look back on American history, we see a lot of amazing accomplishments but we also see a lot of challenging failures. The failures often lead to huge steps forward that lead us right back to more accomplishments. It is important to learn about what made those who came before us keep trying or make changes that lead to success. What did they learn from their failures and how did they work to best use those failures to inform future decisions? These are all important.
Can you tell our readers something interesting about America’s history that is not common knowledge?
During my time at the Smithsonian I have learned so much. One of the things I found very interesting about American history is that the first at-home video game system was invented in the late 1960s and did not have any computer code involved. The game was operated by electronics hardware only. This game system was invented by a man named Ralph Baer. His prototype was called brown box and the consumer version was the Magnavox Odyssey, which was sold in stores during the early 1970s.
Can you tell our readers something really cool about the Smithsonian that most people don’t know?
The Smithsonian is working hard to create more hands-on spaces and experiences for our visitors. Spark!Lab is one example of this. Other examples of hands-on spaces within the Smithsonian are Q?rius at the Natural History Museum, How Things Fly at Air and Space and imagiNATIONS at the Museum of the American Indian. I would expect to see more hands-on Smithsonian spaces in years to come.
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
When I am not working my favorite thing to do is spend time with my wife. We are great friends and have a lot of fun even doing basic things. We like to spend our time gardening, riding bikes, searching thrift stores for interesting treasures, exploring new towns and reading.
Where can kids go to learn more about The National Museum of American History?
The National Museum of American History has a great website: americanhistory.si.edu. From there you can explore the museum’s collections, watch videos and read about museum events. Another great place to learn more is on the Lemelson Center’s website: invention.si.edu. The Lemelson Center is part of the American History Museum but has its own website focused on Invention and Innovation.