“Serious Fun” at First Americans Museum [Podcast]

How do you design for all ages at the same time?

What is “serious fun”? Does nature ever go out of style? How do you create content for both Native and non-Native audiences? What do education staff do when a gallery has no text panels? What are “Native sensibilities”? Why is Blue Deer blue?

Shoshana Wasserman (Deputy Director) and Kimberly Rodriguez (New Media Specialist) from First Americans Museum, and Bill Smith (Principal, Storyline Studio) discuss “Serious Fun at the First Americans Museum” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio).

Along the way: a 12-foot hawk, rotary phones, and Grandma Turtle’s Choctaw collar.


Talking Points:

1. What is FAM?
2. What is the "FAMily Discovery Center" project?
3. Native Sensibilities Taking Center Stage
4. Native and Human Values: Community, Respect, Resilience, and Stewardship
5. We are all connected.
6. The project is still growing.


How to Listen:

Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/making-the-museum/id1674901311  

Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6oP4QJR7yxv7Rs7VqIpI1G  

Listen at Making the Museum, the Website:
https://www.makingthemuseum.com/podcast  

Links to Every Podcast Service, via Transistor:
https://makingthemuseum.transistor.fm/


Guest Bios:

Shoshana Wasserman (Muscogee Creek/Thlopthlocco Tribal Town citizen) began with a vision to weave culture, education, and community into meaningful spaces. For over 20 years, she helped bring First Americans Museum to life. A founding team member and Deputy Director, she oversees operations, guest services, and the store supporting Native artists. As co-curator of the FAMily Discovery Center, she champions immersive storytelling, tribal collaboration, and joyful design—all anchored in her belief We Are All Connected.

For 18 years, Kimberly Rodriguez (Muscogee/Oglala Sioux) has been part of the FAM journey—from name changes to documenting the site “from the ground to the mound.” A co-curator of two exhibitions and a proud member of the powerhouse Communications team, she blends professionalism with a Looney Tunes sense of humor. With deep pride in promoting the stories of 39 tribes in Oklahoma today, Kimberly brings heart, wit, and collaboration to everything she does—because like water, humor is life.

Bill Smith, Principal of Storyline Studio, brings over 40 years of experience as one of the nation’s leading exhibition designers. Formerly partner and design director at West Office Exhibition Design, he led award-winning projects for history, science, and cultural institutions. In 2003, he founded Storyline Studio to further his creative vision. His work has earned accolades from the Industrial Designers Society of America, AAM’s CurCom, and the Society for Environmental Graphic Design.


About Making the Museum:

Making the Museum is a newsletter and podcast on exhibitions, written and hosted by Jonathan Alger. MtM is a project of C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio.

Learn more about the creative work of C&G Partners:
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/


Links for This Episode:

Shoshana Waserman:
shoshanaw@famok.org

Kimberly Rodriguez:
communications@famok.org

Bill Smith:
bill@storylinestudio.com

First Americans Museum:
https://famok.org/

FAMily Discovery Center:
https://familydiscoverycenter.org/

Storyline Studio:
https://www.storylinestudio.com/


Links for Making the Museum, the Podcast:

Contact Making the Museum:
https://www.makingthemuseum.com/contact

Host Jonathan Alger, Managing Partner of C&G Partners, on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanalger 

Email Jonathan Alger:
alger@cgpartnersllc.com 

C&G Partners | The Exhibition and Experience Design Studio:
https://www.cgpartnersllc.com/ 


Making the Museum, the Newsletter:

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