June 08 Issue - Employee Monthly Magazine

Everything old is new again

Museum director keeps things fresh

Bradbury Science Museum Director Linda Deck plays with some magnetic pieces used to model water molecules. The pieces and other items are part of a hands-on experience for visitors to the museums' TechLab. Photo by Sandra Valdez,

Linda Deck knows the importance of telling a story. For 20 years as a senior exhibit developer, she helped the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History tell its story.

Today, Deck leads the Bradbury Science Museum and its team, whose mission is to describe in words, pictures, displays, and exhibits and with hands-on activities the Laboratory's 65-year history. It's no small task for a Laboratory whose origin dates back to the Manhattan Project and the race to create the first atomic device.

When Deck became museum director in August 2007, she had a long, rewarding career in the museum field, including time spent at the Smithsonian and five years as director of the Idaho Museum of Natural History.

"I started my career while I was still in graduate school, when I got the opportunity to participate in the visiting-student program at the Smithsonian," said Deck. "The work there was really exciting, involving paleontology research and collections. I did a little bit of everything that goes into running a museum."

Deck eventually joined Natural History's Department of Public Programs, developing and managing new exhibit projects for the museum's millions of yearly visitors.

"My real interest was engaging the general public with science. Being able to do that visually, in writing, and with interactives interpreting the 'real thing' in museum exhibits is the ultimate," said Deck.

With completion of the Smithsonian's Geology, Gems, and Minerals exhibition, Deck began to wind down her career at the museum. "I sort of worked my way out of a job. We had completed our geology and paleontology exhibit projects, and it was time to look for something new," she said.

Deck and her husband, Ralph, whom she married while working at the Smithsonian, relocated to Pocatello, Idaho, and the Idaho Museum of Natural History.

"I very much enjoyed my time in Idaho and accomplished a lot for the museum, including raising a lot of money and helping the museum grow," said Deck.

Her search for another opportunity to continue her career and add to her cultural experiences led Deck to Los Alamos and its proximity to cultural activities in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.

"When I came here, I realized I wanted to learn as much as I could about Los Alamos, both the Laboratory and the community," said Deck. To that end, Deck participated in Leadership Los Alamos and became a member of the County's Lodgers Tax Advisory Board, learning more about the needs and issues of the community and area.

As director of the Bradbury Science Museum, Deck's goal is to continue telling the public about the Lab's history, technology, and path forward doing cutting-edge science.

"The museum's galleries are one of the ways that we reach out to the public with Lab information," said Deck. "But we also have this phenomenal informal education component."

Educational programs developed and supported by staff at the Bradbury include Science on Wheels, a program for schools across Northern New Mexico that brings science education and a bit of the museum to students; the TechLab hands-on learning experience at the museum; public talks on science, archeology, and health issues; and science demos for museum visitors and at local events.

Having been at the Lab for almost a year, what does Deck think of her experience? "It has been great. I think the staff at the Bradbury is dedicated, creative, and talented," said Deck. "I am very lucky. I got a box of premium chocolates [referring to her staff] when I came here and not the dime-store kind, but the really, really good ones. I really do love our team and what we do for the Lab and the public."

-Ed Vigil