Full RFP NMNH Learning Center.pdf

Office of Contracting P.O. Box 37012 MRC 1200 Washington, DC 20013-7012 Tel.: (202) 633-7290 Fax: (202) 633-7308

Office of the Chief Financial Officer Office of Contracting

June 28, 2010

RE: Request for Proposal for Exhibit Design Services National Museum of Natural History’s Learning Center (No. F10SOL10045)

Dear Prospective Bidder:

The Smithsonian Institution on behalf of its Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) requires exhibit design services in regards to the above-referenced project. To that end, please allow this cover letter, together with the attached Request for Proposal (RFP), Statement of Work and related exhibits to serve as a formal solicitation for the work as is more fully described herein. Please note that this project possesses a significant requirement for media and web components.

Those firms interested in participating in this project are requested to submit a proposal.

It is recommended that this entire package be reviewed prior to formulating your responses.

The instructions for submitting a proposal can be found in Sections L and M.

Serious thought will be given to proposals that offer a favorable combination of financial arrangements, services conducted through regular business practices, and comments to the enclosed proposed agreement.

Your proposal as well as others will be carefully reviewed by representatives of the Smithsonian. Written proposals for this RFP must be received by 3:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time on July 28, 2010.

Please provide copies of your proposal on or before the above date and time to the following address:

Postal Address:

Smithsonian Institution Office of Contracting

P.O. Box 37012 MRC 1200 Washington, DC 20013-7012

Attn: Thomas Dempsey

Hand Delivery/Overnight Mail:

Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution Office of Contracting 2011 Crystal Drive Suite 350 Arlington, VA 22202-3709

Attn: Thomas Dempsey

If any additional information concerning this project is required, please contact Mr.

Thomas E. Dempsey at (202) 633-7259. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, /s/ Robert Fraga Robert Fraga Director of Contracting

F10SOL10045

SOLICITATION, OFFER AND AWARD

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

7. ISSUED BY CODE 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

ORDER UNDER DPAS (15 CFR 700)

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

NEGOTIATED (RFP)

SEALED BID (IFB)

5. DATE ISSUED

1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED RATING PAGE OF PAGES

1 260

C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

EXT.NUMBERAREA CODE

B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT CALLS)A. NAME

10. FOR

INFORMATION

CALL:

CAUTION: LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

(Date)(Hour) local timeuntildepository located in copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in Item 8, or if hand carried, in the

SOLICITATION

9. Sealed offers in original and

PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

OTHER STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD

INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS AND

LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

CONTRACT CLAUSES

PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACH.

I

J

K

L

M SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

PACKAGING AND MARKING

DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSESPART I - THE SCHEDULE

H

G

F

E

D

C

B

A

SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) DESCRIPTION SEC. (X)

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS

18. OFFER DATE17. SIGNATURE

SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

IS DIFFERENT FROM ABOVE - ENTER

15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS

EXT.NUMBERAREA CODE

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER

(Type or print)AND

ADDRESS

OF

OFFEROR

CODE FACILITY

16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER15A. NAME

DATEAMENDMENT NO.DATEAMENDMENT NO.

and related documents numbered and dated):

amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors

(The offeror acknowledges receipt of

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS

CALENDAR DAYS (%)30 CALENDAR DAYS (%)20 CALENDAR DAYS (%)10 CALENDAR DAYS (%)

(See Section I, Clause No. 52.232.8)

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT

designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the

12. In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within ______________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

28. AWARD DATE

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

CODE 24. ADMINISTERED BY (If other than Item 7)

ITEM

(4 copies unless otherwise specified)

23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN

41 U.S.C. 253 (c) ( 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c) (

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION:

21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION20. AMOUNT19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED

AWARD (To be completed by government)

CODE

06/28/2010 X

OCON

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

P.O. BOX 37012

MRC 1200

Washington DC 20013-7012

BID DROP OFF 1500 ET 07/28/2010

Thomas Dempsey 202 dempseyt@si.edu

633-7259

PAGE(S)

Robert Fraga

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (Rev. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

ITEM NO. SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

NAME OF OFFEROR OR CONTRACTOR

2 260

CONTINUATION SHEET

REFERENCE NO. OF DOCUMENT BEING CONTINUED PAGE OF

F10SOL10045

(A) (B) (C) (D) (E) (F)

Refer to the Table of Contents on page 3.

SEE Schedule Sections A-M.

Note: This Document consists of 260 pages.

Schedule A-M, pp. 3-78, contains two page numbers reflecting position in the overall RFP and referencing it's own page numbering as an independent schedule.

FOB: Destination

00001 RFP for Exhibition Design

Product/Service Code: Z292

OPTIONAL FORM 336 (4-86)

Sponsored by GSA

FAR (48 CFR) 53.110

NSN 7540-01-152-8067

Section A - Solicitation/Contract Form Section B - Supplies or Services/Prices B.4 Pricing Section C - Description/Specifications Section D - Packaging and Marking RESERVEDSection E - Inspection and Acceptance Section E - Inspection and Acceptance E.1 52.246-4 Inspection of Services - Fixed-Price. (AUG 1996) E.2 SI-0057 Inspection E.3 SI-0058 Acceptance Section F - Deliveries or Performance

Design & Construction Reviews Number of Copies F.5 SI-0082 Period of Performance-Options and Optional Services F.6 SI-0081 Period of Performance-Bonds & Insurance-Construction F.7 52.242-15 Stop-Work Order. (AUG 1989) Section G - Contract Administration Data G.1 SI-0002 Authorized Negotiators (Apr 1984) G.2 SI-0059 Contract Management G.3 SI-0060 Contracting Officer G.4 SI-0061 Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) (Apr 1988) G.5 SI-0062 Authorities G.6 SI-0063 Key Personnel Section H - Special Contract Requirements H.10 SI-0069 Contractor's Authorized Representative H.11 SI-0073 Indemnification H.13 52.202-S0010 Use of Smithsonian Name (Jun 2000) H.14 52.215-S0009 Information, Services and Rights of the Smithsonian (Apr 1988) H.15 52.223-S0070 Dissemination of Information H.19.2. Smithsonian represents and warrants that: (a) It has the full power, legal capacity and authority to enter into this Agreement and to carry out its terms; and (b) Smithsonian agrees to cooperate with Contractor in order to enable Contractor to perform the services in a timely and efficient manner

H.20. Information on Exhibition IT Infrastructure and Requirements H.21 SI Web Infrastructure

H.22 Access to SI’s Computer / Data Network H.23 Security Credentials

Section I - Contract Clauses 1 52.203-3 Gratuities. (APR 1984) 2 52.203-5 Covenant Against Contingent Fees. (APR 1984) 3 52.203-7 Anti-Kickback Procedures. (JUL 1995) 4 52.203-8 Cancellation, Rescission, and Recovery of Funds for Illegal or Improper Activity. (JAN 1997) 5 52.203-10 Price or Fee Adjustment for Illegal or Improper Activity. (JAN 1997) 6 52.203-12 Limitation on Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions. (SEP 2007) 7 52.203-13 Contractor Code of Business Ethics and Conduct. (DEC 2008) 8 52.204-4 Printed or Copied Double-Sided on Recycled Paper. (AUG 2000) 9 52.204-7 Central Contractor Registration. (APR 2008) 10 52.204-10 Reporting Subcontract Awards. (SEP 2007) 11 52.209-6 Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment. (SEP 2006) 12 52.215-2 Audit and Records - Negotiation. (MAR 2009) 13 52.215-8 Order of Precedence - Uniform Contract Format. (OCT 1997) 14 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns. (MAY 2004) 15 52.219-9 Small Business Subcontracting Plan. (APR 2008) 16 52.219-28 Post-Award Small Business Program Rerepresentation. (APR 2009) 17 52.222-1 Notice to the Government of Labor Disputes. (FEB 1997)

18 52.222-3 Convict Labor. (JUN 2003) 19 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities. (FEB 1999) 20 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity. (MAR 2007) 21 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans. (SEP 2006) 22 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities. (JUN 1998) 23 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans. (SEP 2006) 24 52.222-39 Notification of Employee Rights Concerning Payment of Union Dues or Fees. (DEC 2004) 25 52.222-41 Service Contract Act of 1965. (NOV 2007) 26 52.222-42 Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires. (MAY 1989) 27 52.222-43 Fair Labor Standards Act and Service Contract Act - Price Adjustment (Multiple Year and Option Contracts). (SEP 2009) 28 52.222-49 Service Contract Act - Place of Performance Unknown. (MAY 1989) 29 52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons. (FEB 2009) 30 52.222-52 Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services--Certification. (NOV 2007) 31 52.222-53 Exemption from Application of the Service Contract Act to Contracts for Certain Services--Requirements. (FEB 2009) 32 52.223-3 Hazardous Material Identification and Material Safety Data. (JAN 1997) - Alternate I

(JUL 1995)

33 52.223-14 Toxic Chemical Release Reporting. (AUG 2003) 34 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases. (JUN 2008) 35 52.228-2 Additional Bond Security. (OCT 1997) 36 52.228-5 Insurance - Work on a Government Installation. (JAN 1997) 37 52.228-11 Pledges of Assets. (SEP 2009) 38 52.229-3 Federal, State, and Local Taxes. (APR 2003) 39 52.229-4 Federal, State, and Local Taxes (State and Local Adjustments). (APR 2003) 40 52.232-18 Availability of Funds. (APR 1984) 41 52.232-23 Assignment of Claims. (JAN 1986) 42 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer - Central Contractor Registration. (OCT 2003) 43 52.233-4 Applicable Law for Breach of Contract Claim. (OCT 2004) 44 52.236-23 Responsibility of the Architect-Engineer Contractor. (APR 1984) 45 52.236-24 Work Oversight in Architect-Engineer Contracts. (APR 1984) 46 52.236-25 Requirements for Registration of Designers. (JUN 2003) 47 52.237-3 Continuity of Services. (JAN 1991) 48 52.242-13 Bankruptcy. (JUL 1995) 49 52.242-14 Suspension of Work. (APR 1984) 50 52.243-1 Changes - Fixed-Price. (AUG 1987) - Alternate III (APR 1984) 51 52.244-4 Subcontractors and Outside Associates and Consultants (Architect-Engineer Services).

(AUG 1998)

52 52.244-6 Subcontracts for Commercial Items. (AUG 2009) 53 52.248-2 Value Engineering - Architect-Engineer. (MAR 1990) 54 52.249-7 Termination (Fixed-Price Architect-Engineer). (APR 1984) 55 52.252-2 Clauses Incorporated by Reference. (FEB 1998) 56 52.253-1 Computer Generated Forms. (JAN 1991) 57 52.202-S0003 Definitions (Apr 1988) 58 52.202-S0012 Specialist (Jun 2000) 59 52.209-S0042 Subcontractor Eligibility (Jun 2000) 60 52.215-S0001 Order of Precedence 61 52.215-S0046 Right to Audit and Preservation of Records (Jun 2000) 62 52.227-S0007 Rights-in-Data 63 52-228-S0074 Specific Insurance Requirements 64 52.232-S0005 Interest on Payments

65 52.233-S0006 Disputes 66 52.236-S0022 Ownership and Use of Documents (Jun 2000) 67 52.243-S0054 Technical Directives 68 52.249-S0049 Non-Compliance with Contract Requirements (Jun 2000) 69 52.249-S0050 Termination for Convenience of the Smithsonian Institution (Jun 2000) 70 52.252-S0011 Notice of Deviation in Clauses (Jun 2000) 71 252.203-7001 Prohibition on Persons Convicted of Fraud or Other Defense-Contract-Related Felonies (Dec 2004) 72 252.227-7022 Government Rights (Unlimited) (Mar 1979) 73 252.227-7033 Rights in Shop Drawings (Apr 1966) 74 252.243-7001 Pricing of Contract Modifications (Dec 1991) 75 Subcontracting Plan Section J - List of Documents, Exhibits and Other Attachments Section K - Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Bidders 1 52.203-11 Certification and Disclosure Regarding Payments to Influence Certain Federal Transactions. (SEP 2007) 2 52.204-5 Women-Owned Business (Other Than Small Business). (MAY 1999) 3 52.209-5 Certification Regarding Responsibility Matters. (DEC 2008) 4 52.219-1 Small Business Program Representations. (MAY 2004) 5 52.222-25 Affirmative Action Compliance. (APR 1984) 6 52.223-13 Certification of Toxic Chemical Release Reporting. (AUG 2003) 7 52.215-S0069 Contractor's Authorized Representative Section L - Instructions,Conditions, and Notices to Bidders L.5.6 Volume II Technical Proposal L.5.6.3 Firm’s Experience and Past Performance L.5.6.3.1 Firm’s Experience and Past Performance L.8 52.204-6 Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number. (APR 2008) L.9 52.222-24 Preaward On-Site Equal Opportunity Compliance Evaluation. (FEB 1999) L.10 52.204-6 Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number. (APR 2008) L.11 52.211-6 Brand Name or Equal. (AUG 1999) L.12 52.216-1 Type of Contract. (APR 1984) L.13 52.252-1 Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference. (FEB 1998) Section M - Evaluation Factors for Award

Section A - Solicitation/Contract Form

A.1 See Page 1.

A.2 Type of Contract/Service

The Smithsonian Institution has a requirement for companies or firms that can provide the exhibit design and specifications for the Center for Natural History Learning to be installed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in accordance with the requirements of Section C and as otherwise specified in this contract and any attachments hereto. The Smithsonian intends to award one firm-fixed priced contract. The Contractor shall furnish all supervision, labor, materials, equipment and facilities necessary to produce the work as specified below.

Section B - Supplies or Services/Prices

B.1 Type of Contract

The Smithsonian Institution intends to award one Firm Fixed Price contract to the successful Contractor(s)/Offeror(s) based, in part, on the pricing contained in this section.

B.2 Services

The Contractor shall provide all professional, technical, and non-personal services for the design and specification of the interior fit-out, fixtures and furnishings, and the media and technology design and hardware specification, for the Center for Natural History Learning (hereinafter “Learning Center”), to be installed in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (“NMNH”) in accordance with the requirements of Section C and as otherwise specified in this contract and any attachments hereto.

B.3 The Smithsonian Institution has estimated the budget for this design project, including options will be between $425,000 and $525,000. The overall budget for the design, fabrication, installation, equipment, space preparation, construction, and deinstallation will be provided at a later date. The Smithsonian Institution will hold the Contractor responsible for producing design packages which can be produced within the budgets, to be provided. The Contractor shall be required to redesign the package(s), at no additional cost, if they are not within the stated budget(s).

B.4 Pricing

The Contractor shall perform all efforts in accordance with the requirements of this contract for the firm-fixed price below. This firm-fixed price shall include all direct labor, materials, communication, production and other direct costs as well as all indirect costs, subcontractor costs, commissions, and any other profit and expenses for which the Contractor expects payment. The firm-fixed price for the shall not include transportation costs and travel allowances (per diem) for Smithsonian-required or authorized travel. Travel costs shall be considered reimburseable as outlined below. No additional charge shall be made by the Contractor for the requirements of this Contract, including source and documentation, error correction, or expense for any other materials or services to be performed hereunder unless specified otherwise.

Phase I Firm Fixed Price: _________________________________________ $____________ Express in Words and Figures

Phase II Firm Fixed Price: _________________________________________ $____________ Express in Words and Figures

Phase III Firm Fixed Price: _________________________________________ $____________ Express in Words and Figures

Phase IV Firm Fixed Price: _________________________________________ $____________ Express in Words and Figures

Phase V

Express in Words and Figures

Travel and Pier Diem Costs/Reimbursable Costs specified in Section B.5:

Allowance: _________________________________________ $____________ Express in Words and Figures

Total Price including Travel Allowance and all Phases: -

Options (do not include in Total Price above):

Option 1 (see C.3.6):

Firm Fixed Price: _________________________________________ $____________ Express in Words and Figures

Option 2 (see C.3.7):

Allowances (do not include in Firm Fixed Price amounts above):

1. Photo and film acquisition and use rights (see C.2.7): $_____________________

B.5. Travel and Per Diem

B.5.1 Contractor shall participate in numerous meetings at NMNH during the design, development and fabrication processes, with said meeting frequency ranging from two (2) to four

(4) per month. The Smithsonian may, at its discretion, authorize additional meetings as necessary.

The meetings may range in duration from one (1) hour to a full day depending on the complexity of the subject matter. Contractor shall attend the three (3) designated meetings for design approval in Washington, DC, as well as meetings with approval team when necessary. During the construction/fabrication phase, Contractor shall meet at least bi-weekly with the Smithsonian project manager and core team to discuss progress. Meetings will be held at the Smithsonian unless otherwise agreed to. This schedule is intended to indicate the level of anticipated effort by the Contractor, who may propose an alternate work schedule to achieve the same effort (the three review meetings are mandatory).

B.5.2 All Travel Expenses shall be charged at cost and must conform to Federal Travel Regulations Chapters 300-304 (please see Federal Travel Regulations Chapter 300- 304 available at www.gsa.gov). Furthermore, all Travel Expenses must be documented as to the reasonable satisfaction of the Smithsonian, which documentation may include the provision of actual receipts showing the date, location, and actual expense incurred. Travel allowances (per diem) shall be proposed in accordance with the current applicable Federal Travel Regulation. Contractor may propose the out-of-town travel performed by its personnel in their privately owned automobile at the rate established in the Smithsonian Travel Regulations not to exceed the cost of the most direct economy air route between the points so traveled. If more than one person travels in the same automobile, no additional charge shall be made by the Contractor for such travel. No profit or fee shall be paid for the travel or per diem expenses.

B.5.3 Local Travel. Upon the prior approval of the Smithsonian, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for Smithsonian authorized travel. Said travel costs shall not be reflected in Contractor’s firm fixed price for this contract.

B.5.4 Travel and per diem costs shall not be reflected in the Contractor’s firm-fixed price for this contract.

B.5.5 No profit or fee shall be included on travel and per diem expenses reimbursed under this

B.6 Availability of Funding

Funds are not presently available for all options contained in this solicitation/contract. The Smithsonian’s obligation under this solicitation/contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Smithsonian for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this solicitation/contract and until Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

B.7 Project Schedule

It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to immediately notify the Smithsonian Institution if the target dates and proposed packages of work described herein adversely affect the Contractor’s Critical Path Schedule for the final completion date of this project.

B.8 Disposition of Offers

All information submitted in response to this RFP shall become the property of the Smithsonian Institution and will not be returned (this includes late submissions).

Section C - Description/Specifications

C.1. Introduction

Behind the scenes at the National Museum of Natural History are unparalleled scientific assets with enormous educational potential. Out of the view and reach of most visitors are the more than 200 active scientists, hundreds of other experts including conservators, preparators, collections specialists, exhibition specialists, and educators, and their research, their deep knowledge, their passion, and their great stories. Also out of the view and reach of most visitors are the more than 126 million objects and specimens that represent a unique collection of data and evidence about the universe, the Earth, life on this planet, and human culture.

The Museum is known for its world class exhibitions, which allow visitors to see exemplar objects and follow a few carefully selected stories about the natural world. While exhibitions provide one-of-a-kind experiences for visitors, they usually focus only on seeing objects at a distance. They do not provide many opportunities for Museum visitors to reach “behind the glass” and select, touch, and examine objects for themselves, or to talk to scientists and enthusiastic staff about their shared passion for nature and culture. It’s time to change that.

Museum staff are imagining a space where the millions of visitors to the Museum and its website can become a part of the Museum’s ongoing learning community by interacting with its hundreds of scientists and millions of objects, As the only national science museum in the United States, NMNH has both a unique responsibility and opportunity to use the tools at its disposal to create an interactive space that goes beyond exhibitions to further universal science literacy and public engagement and dialogue around natural history science and its relevance today.

The collections of the Museum and its scientific and education staff have the potential to promote a broad spectrum of science learning and participation among people of all ages, interests, and levels of expertise. By inviting them to interact with these assets and with appropriate supporting resources, the Museum can provide visitors with opportunities to:

• Stimulate and exercise their curiosity and wonder

• Make connections between their lives, the world they live in, and the Museum’s scientists, research, and collections

• Come to know natural history as personally relevant, creative, exciting, and fun, and as one way to better understand the worlds of nature and culture

• Spend time rolling up their sleeves, pulling up a chair, and learning how to use the tools that natural history scientists use to participate in scientific investigations and science learning, both in and beyond the Museum

• Communicate with scientists and other experts and learners about cutting-edge and ongoing scientific discovery and pressing scientific questions and issues

• Learn about and participate in research and discourse that uses knowledge of the past to understand the natural world today as a foundation for action to preserve its future.

C.1.1 The Center for Natural History Learning

To these ends, the National Museum of Natural History is planning to create a new center of scientific and educational excellence: The Center for Natural History Learning (placeholder name;

also “Learning Center” herein). The Center for Natural History Learning will bring the Museum’s vast scientific assets and its educational resources out from behind closed doors. It will invite visitors to engage actively in the work of the Museum and to enter into dialogue with the Museum’s world-class team of scientists and experts and the largest natural history collection in the world. The Center will function as a physical learning center at NMNH, as a virtual learning space on the Museum’s website, and as an open collaborative laboratory for the study and investigation of learning natural history science.

The Center for Natural History Learning will be a welcoming space, open and responsive to the full range of visitors to NMNH and tailored to their diverse motivations, interests, prior experiences, and levels of understanding. In the spirit of the emerging DIY and social media cultures, we are asking the question: What would a creative maker-space in a natural history museum look and feel like? The space will provide opportunities for people to engage in the kinds of activities that scientists do behind the scenes at different levels of their own comfort. Some visitors might want to walk in, roll up their sleeves, go right to a few cabinets to take out objects they have specific questions about, then take them aside and use the tools of science to explore them. Others might need some guidance from a scientist or educator, or might be most comfortable with a demonstration or watching technicians isolating and accessioning new fossils, for example. Others might want to start by holding a single object in their hand, let questions about it emerge, and then look for other actual objects in the space to help answer those questions or virtual objects online to answer different questions. Still others might want to use augmented reality applications on their smartphones to collect and share data and photos about new discoveries. Although this is not an exhaustive list, it describes the kind of blending between a “behind the scenes” and public space, and the seamless integration of physical, social, and media-enhanced interactivity that it should encompass.

Given the profile of the Museum’s visitorship, the Center will focus its efforts on families or small multi-generational groups, particularly those with children between the ages of 8 and 15 (who often motivate and dictate the Museum visit); “tweens” and teens (ages 8-17) who often lose interest in science at these ages; natural history enthusiasts who come to the Museum with significant understanding and commitment; and formal education groups (K-12 students, undergraduate and graduate students, and K-12 teachers).

C.1.2 Key Features

The Center for Natural History Learning will be located in a 12,000+ square foot, LEED-certified space, readily accessible to the public. It will be an environment rich in people, objects, and technology, in which to explore the world. all available for first-hand interaction. The Center will provide objects, specimens, books, computers, work benches, and technological tools like microscopes and a scanning electron microscope, for people to tell their own stories or learn the stories that interest them the most. It will offer the following features and resources:

• Artifacts and specimens from the collections of the Museum in both physical and digital form

• Access to the museum’s scientific and expert staff, onsite and via various media and technologies

• An array of tools and equipment to support scientific investigations from simple devices such hand lenses to advanced technologies such as confocal and scanning electron microscopes

• A regularly changing set of opportunities for self-guided and mediated experiences and conversations for individuals, families, and small groups

• State-of-the-art technology and media infrastructure that will provide visitors to the space with the capacity to access data, images and two-way interactions worldwide

• A lab, convertible classroom, seminar space, learning lounge, and one hundred seat theater for more formal and large group programs and intensive investigations

In addition, the Center will serve as the educational hub for the Museum. It will create paths for visitors to move back and forth between the Center and Museum exhibits and other interactive NMNH learning spaces such as the Discovery Room, Fossil Lab, and Insect Zoo. It will provide meeting space, scientific instruments, and media and technologies that can serve the educational needs of visitors, scientists, programs for learners of all ages, and organized groups associated with the Museum and the community.

C.1.3 Visitor Research

The initial design as well as the continuing development of the Center will be informed and guided by an ongoing program of visitor studies. Through evaluation and research, the Museum will shape the experiences, programs, and resources of the Center, will learn about their effectiveness, and determine their impact related to the outcomes goals outlined below. The first such study, completed in December 2009, is a series of 53 in-depth visitor interviews with a total of 135 people of different ages, conducted by Slover-Linett Strategies. (See Section J). It focused on elements of an ideal museum experience and visitor perspectives on interacting with collections, scientists, and research.

From these interviews, six elements were identified that “lead visitors to view a museum experience as particularly interesting, memorable, engaging, or inspiring.” They are:

• Relevance: Experiences that enable visitors to relate their experience in the museum to their lives outside the museum, to learn about themselves and their daily lives, to make connections to topics of current popular interest, and to understand the social, political, and historical context of an object or exhibit.

• Customization: Experiences that engage visitors in a dialogue and allow them to ask their own questions and to make choices among provided opportunities and options.

• Immersion: Experiences that seem to take visitors out the museum setting (often metaphorically or virtually) and transport them to another time or place, that engage multiple senses and make, that make them a “part of it.”

• Dynamic content: Experiences that involve action, movement, and change; and that provide access to a developmental process as well as the finished product and an opportunity “to see it happen.”

• One-of-a-kind Experience: Experiences that involve something unique, dramatic in size and scale, and rare.

• A Sense of Wonder: Experiences that introduce visitors to new and/or unexpected information and ideas, made vivid by objects and activities.

In addition, the research indicated that visitors have little knowledge about, but significant interest in, the Museum’s research work and how research collections are used. They would be interested in behind-the-scenes work, in general, being more transparent. Visitors value direct contact with objects, but specifically in the context of activities. They also value two-way interactions with people who have deep knowledge of, personal experience with, and a passion for the materials and subject matter (not necessarily just credentialed scientists). In the Museum, they are eager for a sense of intellectual comfort and success, not being intimidated or made to feel inadequate by the content or experience.

This research study confirmed and reinforced much of the planning work carried out by the Center team to date, but it also provided valuable new insights into the perceptions and experiences of visitors, helpful ways of talking and thinking about the visitor experience, and specific suggestions for framing and developing visitor experiences. These insights have been integrated into this Statement of Purpose and will inform the next phases of the design work.

C.1.4 Long Term Visitor Outcomes

The Center will seek to support the following outcomes for its visitors:

• Positive attitudes toward and good feelings about NMNH, natural history, science, and their place in one’s life

• Increased scientific and cultural literacy, including better understanding of and skill in using the processes of science

• Increased excitement, curiosity, and interest about the natural world – past, present, and future

– and in continuing to learn about it

• Increased capacity and desire to engage in dialogue and discourse and to take action to help find solutions to science-related challenges

• Enhanced understanding of humanity’s inextricable links to the natural world, resulting in more effective conservation and protection of the planet and its resources

C.1.5 Guiding Principles

To achieve those outcomes, Center programming will be designed with the following understandings and principles in mind:

C.1.5.1 Visitor Experience and Programming

• Visitors come to the Museum curious and with a rich array of prior knowledge, interests, and experience. The Center will work with visitors to connect their curiosity, knowledge, interests, and experience to the Museum’s assets and work and to contemporary scientific questions and issues, to make their experiences personally relevant.

• Learning in informal settings is complex and visitors are diverse in many respects, including age, ethnic and cultural framework, education, and needs. They come to the Museum with different motivations and expectations and learn in multiple ways. The Center will acknowledge and honor this complexity and diversity and support a variety of short term outcomes that appeal to many different visitors.

• Curiosity can be engaged and learning supported by offering visitors both intellectual and physical access to the Museum’s assets. The Center will provide activities and user-friendly access to the elements of the Museum’s science and research: scientists and other experts, collections, tools and technologies, and the guidance, understanding and skills to make effective use of them.

• Most people experience science as a collection of facts, as answers to other people’s questions, and as a linear, cookbook experience that proceeds from hypothesis lock step to conclusion.

Science can be intimidating. The Center will take a different approach. It will emphasize questions as well as answers. It will underscore the relevance of science. The Center will seek to offer visitors more authentic scientific experiences. It will focus on their questions, their exploration, surprise, and discovery, their testing and retesting ideas, their participation in communicating and giving feedback. The Center will emphasize the role of science in the service of solving personally meaningful problems as well as pressing, more global problems.

• Essential to the quest for scientific knowledge and understanding (and often invisible to the public) are the social nature of science, the creativity, joy, and adventure of scientific inquiry and the passion of scientists. The Center will look to put “a human face” on science and imbue visitors’ experiences with these same attributes of social engagement, creativity, joy, adventure, and passion (and some humor).

• Learning is a lifelong enterprise, not bounded by time or space. A visitor’s experience at the Museum is a single learning moment in a lifelong path. The Center will offer visitors and all learners opportunities to access Center and Museum resources and to participate in NMNH science before, during, after, and independent of the visit no matter where they are.

C.1.5.2 Physical Space

• The Center in its design will be a distinctive and memorable; engaging, stimulating, and inspiring;

inviting and comfortable; attractive, natural, light and airy; and fun space.

• The Center should be viewed as a platform with spaces designed and built to accommodate a variety of audiences, purposes, and activities; to enable experimentation with new approaches to visitor engagement and experience; to bring cutting-edge research and science to the public; and to reflect new insights from educational research and emerging Museum priorities.

• The Center will be a LEED certified space and provide an attractive and comfortable learning environment, will be a physical demonstration of the Museum’s commitment to sustainability, and will serve as a tool for teaching environmental awareness

• The Center will be designed according to the highest principles of universal design and will be accessible for all staff and visitors and to optimize self-guided, hands-on, inquiry-based learning

• The Center will be a tool for community engagement, serving the needs of the broader Museum community and the community beyond the Museum’s walls and supporting complementary and collaborative programming with community agencies.

C.1.6 Center Program Spaces and Related Activities

(Please refer to Center architectural and design plans and renderings, Section J)

C.1.6.1 Main Collections Wall. A major visual and operational element of the space, the Collections Wall will be an invitation to visitors to open cabinets and drawers and to look at and study approximately 20,000 objects from the Museum’s teaching collection that are representative of the Museum’s collections. It will feel usable and approachable – less like a display and more like a cabinet/shelf system from which to gather objects to use. The Collections Wall will also include tools, such as hand lenses, microscopes, measuring devices, and spectrometers, that can be checked out by learners for their investigations. Embedded video screens, simple signage, staff and volunteers, and comfortable furniture will enrich and support visitors’ experiences and investigations.

C.1.6.2 Exploration and Discovery Space. This is the major flexible area within the Center and will enable visitors to explore and investigate collections and questions in social settings. Visitors will be guided, challenged, and supported by staff, volunteers, and media to pursue their interests and to make connections between objects and scientific questions in increasingly sophisticated ways. This area of the Center (approximately 4,700 square feet including C.1.6.1) will be staff intensive and dynamic, with regularly changing experiences and conversations.

C.1.6.3 Focused Investigations. A visual, physical, and functional extension of the Exploration and Discovery Space, this area will offer visitors a variety of planned activities related to NMNH research (when the large doors are swung open), or opportunities for deeper investigation with more sophisticated tools and more delicate objects. Focused Investigations will support less directed and more visitor-initiated activity. In this more “intimate” space, visitors in groups of 1-4 can use a common station design to explore their objects. The overall space (approximately 1,000

sq. ft.) can also be closed and used as a classroom.

C.1.6.4 Behind the Scenes. In this zone (within C.1.6.2), visitors can get a deeper glimpse into the Museum’s research and the process of science by interacting with Museum scientists and experts as they demonstrate, conduct, and discuss their work. Curators, postdoctoral students, graduate students, collections managers and technicians, and other researchers as well as exhibition specialists. preparators, and educators will be available, working with objects, collections, and collections information available via the Museum’s existing online research and collections information system, sharing their findings and perspectives, discussing recent discoveries and scientific issues in the news. This will also be an area to showcase advanced technologies such as Scanning Electron Microscopes and equipment supporting DNA and molecular studies.

C.1.6.5 Learning Lounge. This mezzanine space (approximately 950 sq. ft.) will serve as a hub for targeted learning communities such as citizen science groups and high school and teen volunteers and a dedicated environment for more in-depth and extended investigations by learners of all ages in a comfortable atmosphere.

C.1.6.7 Field Investigation Theater. This is a multipurpose space of 1,300 sq. ft. that can seat one hundred people as theater for scientific and public lectures, film, symposia, and meetings; or with seats retracted, can showcase scientists’ investigations in the field, screening live and recorded reports from the field and replicating field site settings and activities. This open space can serve as an area for prototyping and testing exhibit elements, interactives, and educational programs. When closed, it can also serve as a classroom.

C.1.6.8 Media and Distance Learning Classroom. This 700 sq. ft. room, designed to be isolated for sound, will be equipped with state-of-the art media and telecommunications technologies to support videoconferencing among scientists, live outreach broadcasts to schools, professional development programs for teachers, and recording facilities for audio and video production for podcasts and social media. It, too, can serve as a classroom.

C.1.7 The Learning Center Media and Technology

Media and Technology will be integrated throughout the Learning Center, and will serve an integral role in fulfilling its goals. The state-of-the-art technology and media infrastructure will provide visitors with the capacity to access data, images and two-way interactions worldwide. An innovative integrated media and technology strategy will also play a key role in enabling research and analysis of visitor engagement and the fulfillment of educational goals.

C.1.7.1 In this Offering, “Media and Technology” is considered to include media elements such as video screens and audio visual productions in the Learning Center; interactive surfaces and stations in the Center; applications that can be used by visitors on mobile devices; a robust website; social media elements to be distributed throughout the web; and a content and user database and content management system that serves as the backbone for digital content that can be delivered on an array of potential platforms as technology evolves in the future.

C.1.7.2 The Museum seeks an Offeror that can strategize around media and technology that helps users –visitors and staff alike – to create and share content, and to actively engage with each other.

The strategy should include ideas for engaging users in citizen science at the Center and at home.

The technology should support the users in digging deep into the content, developing expertise, and sharing their passion with their peers, wherever they are in the world. To that end the Offeror should be forward-thinking about the platforms and devices that users will have access to within and beyond the physical Center, including emerging devices and technologies. For example, many possibilities lie in emerging multi-platform geo-location technology that could be used in the Center and on users’ personal devices. This technology is developing quickly, and the strategy should be forward-thinking and evolving with technology.

C.1.7.3 The Contractor is encouraged to be creative in envisioning tools and techniques to express the biggest ideas and to explore the tiniest artifacts that the museum has to offer. The Contractor is expected to present visionary new ideas for an integrated media and technology strategy that matches the complex interrelated concepts that the Center seeks to share with its visitors. The technology should mirror biodiversity itself, in that all aspects of the Center should be interrelated, interdependent and built for growth and evolving complexity. And most importantly, the technology should serve the users, providing a platform so that they connect with each other and with scientists and their work.

C.1.7.4 In the Center, technology elements will be used to help visitors in their highly participatory activities; to view metadata about objects, make observations and see observations made by visitors before them, create their own media that they can save and share online, and experience Learning Center content at other points throughout the museum and at home.

Aesthetically, media and technology will be seamlessly and beautifully integrated with the physical space and will reflect the overall tone and intentions of the Learning Center.

C.1.7.5 As described in the first section of this document, the Learning Center will include program spaces such as the Field Investigation Theater and the Media and Distance Learning Classroom where visitors and staff will engage with media through projection screens and monitors. The technology strategy will enable staff to produce fresh content continuously, and evaluate visitor feedback based on participation. Elements could include interactive webcasting;

carts equipped with cameras and monitors for scientist demonstrations; camera-enabled microscopes; laptops, netbooks, or tablet-type devices equipped with software to lead users in close observation of artifacts; user-generated video; scavenger hunts for mobile devices; and interactive multi-touch screens. These examples serve only as initial ideas – it is expected that the Contractor will come with new concepts.

C.1.7.6 In addition to physical media and technology elements, the Contractor will design a related and equally engaging online presence for the Center. This digital outreach will at a minimum include a website, a social media presence and mobile applications. These elements will provide ready access to the Museum’s scientific and educational assets with an emphasis on making the collections accessible (well beyond the Museum’s physical teaching collections) and providing opportunities for the online public to interact with scientists and to engage with research and current scientific questions in a variety of ways. The digital outreach aspects of the Center will offer experiences comparable to those onsite, where appropriate, but equally important, will take advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by the technology. Online and mobile media will also leverage the Museum’s existing and ongoing outreach efforts by acting as a gateway to the Encyclopedia of Life (http://www.eol.org), Ocean Portal (http://ocean.si.edu), the Smithsonian Collections Search Center (http://collections.si.edu), and other current and future online tools for visitors onsite and online visitors. The goals and outcomes for visitors to the Center will be consistent whether they walk through the door or log on through the Internet. Users should be encouraged to be active participants in determining the content and course of their online visit.

C.1.7.7 Technology should be used in a way that is intellectually and experientially interactive, providing material in several different formats to accommodate users with varying learning styles.

The online experience will include personalized content areas so users can login, upload, curate and share content. There must be a strategy for sharing and distributing content throughout the web and via social media, and integration with third-party platforms and mobile devices.

C.1.7.8 Content should move seamlessly between the physical and virtual center. Visitors should be able to save data they collect at the Learning Center and then access it from home to continue the learning journey. While at the Learning Center they should be able to send a photo of themselves to friends. Staff should be able to quickly upload videos of scientist demonstrations recorded onsite to the Learning Center’s online presence. New content should instantly be available on both onsite screens and online. In this case, the Learning Center and the website and any other applications will likely need to share a technical development platform, content management system and network/server resources. The underlying system should be forward-looking and include a database that can expand with the needs of the Learning Center and a content management system that can be used by staff with varying levels of expertise.

C.1.7.9 Technology will be used to facilitate ongoing development of Learning Center content by providing tools for staff to quickly integrate new content, evaluate user responsiveness, and effectively use Museum resources to produce new, meaningful experiences over time. The media and technology strategy should include recommendations for integration of evaluation components in all interactive media for the purpose of gathering and analyzing usage statistics.

C.1.7.10 The technology should be non-proprietary, extensible and mindful of costs related to development, installation and ongoing maintenance. The vendor should consider integration issues pertaining to existing Smithsonian systems, resources and IT policies. Software components must be in compliance with current SI security and privacy standards and use existing resources, including hardware and software platforms, as much as possible. The COTR will provide the Offeror with information about the most current SI Technical Reference Model (TRM) and Preferred Products List.

C.