Exhibit Design Fabrication and Installation Services 2017-2021

The Smithsonian Institution awarded a Master IDIQ on March 6, 2017, for exhibition design, fabrication, and installation services across its museums, galleries, and the National Zoo, with ordering authority through March 5, 2027—approximately seven months remaining.

Capitol Exhibit Services, Inc. dominates the vehicle, holding 24 of 28 task orders and $8.3 million of the $9.1 million combined potential value (91% by dollar). Healykohler Design, Inc. and Reich & Petch Design International each hold two orders. All 28 task orders fund the Smithsonian Institution with no set-asides designated. The vehicle has obligated $6.8 million against the combined potential value, representing 74% utilization.

Ordering momentum shows volatility: the vehicle issued 2 orders in 2022, 5 in 2023, 1 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 4 in 2026, with the most recent award on June 4, 2026. Task-order values typically range from $17 thousand to $892 thousand for single projects, though the largest contract, issued April 28, 2017, to fabricate the Americans Exhibit for the National Museum of the American Indian, carried a ceiling of $2.3 million. Individual task-order durations vary widely from months to multi-year engagements, with several extending through March 5, 2027, or beyond.

Scope spans full-service exhibition work: design upgrades (Butterfly Pavilion at NMNH), fabrication (cellphone exhibit, food exhibits, permanent collections), installation (interpretive panels, vitrines, signage), graphics services, and maintenance agreements. Pricing is predominantly firm fixed price, with select labor-hour and time-and-materials contracts. Work is performed across Smithsonian locations including the National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of Asian Art, and the National Zoo.

With Capitol Exhibit Services capturing the overwhelming share of activity and ordering authority expiring in seven months, competitive entry is constrained unless current incumbents decline pursuit on specific task orders. Firms seeking volume should evaluate a direct relationship with the Smithsonian given the demonstrated weakness of this vehicle's distribution.

The Smithsonian Institution has awarded a Master IDIQ for exhibition design, fabrication, and installation firms to provide such services to the Smithsonian's many museums, galleries, and the National Zoo.