Smithsonian Libraries

The Libraries has been able to add a wonderful new feature to its exhibition gallery in the National Museum of American History. To try out the new tours for our current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn, dial the following phone numbers on your personal cell phone while strolling through the exhibition:

Dial 202-633-8000 #103 to hear an introduction to the exhibition

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

In the 1950s-1960s, Vojtěch Kubašta, an Austrian-born paper engineer and illustrator working in Czechoslovakia, created a series of pop-up adventure and fantasy stories combining bold folk art style imagery, distinctive colors, and innovative cut and folded paper styles. Some of his large-scale constructions of this period include Marco Polo (1962), The tournament (1950s), and Ricky the Rabbit (1961).

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Recent lecture by "Pop-Up Lady" Ellen Rubin is now available.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

The Libraries presents the second lecture in a new series that explores the history, artistry, design and construction of pop-up and movable books. Chuck Fischer: "Creating a Pop-Up Book and The Enduring Appeal Of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol"

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

A bigger than life three-dimensional form of a bee emerges from this small 5 ½-inch book when the carousel mechanism is unfolded. David Hawcock, a paper-engineer for more than 30 titles, has crafted an intricate, colorful, and anatomically accurate representation of the insect.—Stephen Van Dyk

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn. A perfect entry for Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

In conjunction with our ongoing exhibition in the National Museum of American History, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn, the Libraries is hosting a series of pop-up and movable books lectures. People of all ages are welcome to attend.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Ron van der Meer, a Dutch paper engineer living England, studied graphic design before exploring the world of pop-up books. Van der Meer, having created more than 100 pop-ups, first worked with Wally Hunt at Intervisual Communications in California to create his first pop-ups in the early 1980s.

The Libraries will be hosting a series of lectures to accompany its current exhibition at the National Museum of American History, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn. Save the date on your calendar for these sure-to-be-fascinating talks about pop-ups from some of the leading artists in the field.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

Featuring a title from the Libraries' pop-up book collection and current exhibition, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn.

The fascinating art of paper engineering is the focus of a new exhibit that is on display in the Libraries’ gallery at the National Museum of American History. Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn includes 44 books that range in date from the mid-16th to the early 21st centuries, creating a fascinating retrospective of volumes, which were designed and constructed with parts that move.

Pop-up mechanisms—which allow certain elements to pop up from the surface of a book page—are just some of the paper construction types highlighted in the Libraries’ exhibit, Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop & Turn, on view in the Libraries’ gallery at the National Museum of American History

The fascinating art of paper engineering is the focus of a new exhibit that is on display in the Libraries’ gallery at the National Museum of American History. Paper Engineering: Fold, Pull, Pop, and Turn includes 44 books that range in date from the mid-16th to the early 21st centuries, creating a fascinating retrospective of volumes, which were designed and constructed with parts that move.