Wayne LaBar
Vice President: Exhibitions and Theaters
Liberty Science Center
Exhibitions & Theaters
285 West Side Avenue
Suite 268
Jersey City NJ
07305
USA
http://www.lsc.org
With 20 years of museum exhibition development/design experience, Wayne LaBar, became Vice President of Exhibitions and Theaters for Liberty Science Center in 1999, where he is responsible for overseeing thematic content, exhibitions, large format film program, 2D and 3D design and overall design aesthetics. For the museum (due to reopen in 2007), LaBar is spearheading a $104 million project to develop new visitor experiences that will be more relevant to their everyday life and global issues, will educate and inspire action, will address ongoing developments in science and technology and enhance the learning and aesthetic environment found at the Center. In addition, Wayne and his fellow team members are currently exploring how to use new advances in technology and their resultant social changes to advance the exhibition field. Prior to joining Liberty Science Center, he was Director of Exhibits and Director of Exhibit Implementation (1994-1999) with The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. LaBar began his career as an engineering trainee with the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and then as a research assistant with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. While still in Pittsburgh, he had project responsibilities at the then-new Carnegie Science Center that included a wide range of experience in exhibition development, budget management and grant writing. Subsequently, he went to work at Krent/Paffett Associates, Inc., based in Boston, where he had project management responsibilities in exhibition design and development. Clients included the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, North Alabama Science Center, Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, Science and Technology Museum of Atlanta, Tampa Museum of Science and Industry and Missouri Botanical Gardens. Originally from New Jersey, he has a B.Sc. in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. LaBar is an alumnus of MLI, Class of 2003, and is a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America.
Wayne will present Science Mobilized: Bringing Up-To-The-Minute Headlines Into The Museum and Back Out Again: The Times Square of Science and Technology. [Paper]
