Smithsonian Air & Space Museum & Gift Shop

The Air & Space Museum & Gift Shop diorama was created for the 2009 Washington, D.C. National Barbie Doll Convention and entered into the Competition Room category 'D.C. Sights.'
 
The walls were created from foam core board that was cut to size and spray painted with a light grey color.  The floor was cut from a piece of foam core board and covered with inexpensive peel and stick tiles in a taupe marble pattern. I used T-pins to connect the walls to each other and to connect the walls to the floor.
 
The gift shop display window was created from the box front to a Mattel American Idol accessory set.  I covered the window opening with paper and masking tape and spray painted the rest of the box front in a light gray color.  I attached the window to the center wall with T-pins. Inside the window I glued battery operated lights purchased at the Dollar Tree store to light up the toy display. 
 
The television launch wall in the left corner of the gift shop started out as the back of the Mattel American Idol accessory set box.  I spray painted the box inside and out in black.  I purchased television set refrigerator magnets from the Dollar Tree store and color copied shuttle launch pictures on photo paper to fit the television fronts.  The larger television set started out as an inexpensive aluminum photo frame backed with Styrofoam to give the appearance of a flat screen attached to the wall.  I glued on some silver dots to give the appearance of on, off, channel, and volume knobs.
 
I purchased a lot of toy puzzles sold in 6 or 9 cube sets from the Dollar Tree store. I pried the top of the clear cubes off and removed the contents.  Some of the cubes remained clear as shown in the moon rock displays on the right wall of the museum. 
 
Some cubes were glued together and spray painted light gray to create the shelved toy display on the left gift shop wall.  Some cubes remained clear and were used to give height to the gift shop window display. Still more cubes were glued together and spray painted black to create the base of the television launch wall in the gift shop.
 
The cubes under the television launch wall and on the shelving unit were filled with miniature games and model kits that I'd created on a computer image program.  I also used the same image program to create, resize, and print all of the wall art, post cards, coloring books, games, posters, store signage and display images in the museum and gift shop, as well as the store sign.
 
The hand shopping baskets were purchased many years ago in the Easter decor section of the craft store.  I spray painted them red to cover the pastel woven pattern.
 
I used miniature Star Wars and Star Trek toys from my own collection to fill the display shelves, which started out as upside down business card holders that I glued to the left wall.  The cashier's stand is a combination of a pencil can, post it note holder and right side up business card holder. 
 
Use this link to see and print some of the miniature games and kits I made for this diorama.

Updated 09/04/2011.