Located in Vassar College’s new Integrated Science Commons, the Sources exhibitions celebrate the interdisciplinary collaboration that has been an integral part of the sciences at Vassar for over 150 years. 

The 157,000-square-foot Commons—designed by Ennead Architects and composed of both new and renovated building—creates a cohesive and vibrant science community while providing state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories for students and faculty. The Bridge for Laboratory Sciences—a newly constructed, 82,000-square-foot, LEED Silver–certified building—serves as a centerpiece of the project and a link to the college’s other recently renovated science buildings, from Olmsted Hall to the New England Building to Sanders Physics. By uniting different disciplines into the Commons, Vassar supports collaboration through simple proximity.

To encourage Vassar’s faculty and students to continue ushering the sciences into the future, New York–based multidisciplinary firm Poulin + Morris created a series of exhibitions that honors the past and the present by showcasing the groundbreaking research and renowned education conducted at Vassar. Poulin + Morris was responsible for the thematic development, design, curatorial selection, casework design and artifact mounting/installation of all exhibitions.

Each individual exhibition focuses on a verb, the “source” of science education. Olmsted Hall focuses on “Measuring,” “Observing” and “Modeling;” the Bridge displays “Exploring” and “Connecting;” and visitors can find “Innovating” and “Pioneering” in the New England Building and Sander Physics. The exhibited stories, tools, devices and artifacts, paired with contemporary work from classroom labs and the community, illustrate the integral and vital role that Sources has—and continues to play—in enabling Vassar’s faculty and students to explore greater scientific realms.

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