The Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute (MCI) will convene an interdisciplinary symposium on the topic of polymer composite materials (aka PLASTIC) on June 7-8, 2012 in Washington DC. 

We’ve studied the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age...yet here we live in the Age of Plastic.  The Smithsonian Institution is leveraging its collections—arguably the world’s greatest repository of plastic material culture—to investigate the significance of plastic, its influence in our lives, and how we document and preserve this history.  Join us for a dynamic conversation of historians, scientists, conservators, artists, and designers in which we explore the material, cultural, and environmental phenomenon of the material we call plastic.  In fewer than 200 years, it has transformed our world such that we can’t imagine life without it, have only begun to consider the ingenuity of its discovery...and we aren’t even sure we want it.

WHEN:           June 7-8, 2012

WHERE:         Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium

                        Smithsonian American Art Museum

                        800 F Street NW

                        Washington, DC

All are welcome, but space is limited

To register send email with your name, title, and affiliation to [log in to unmask]

Get more information at:

http://www.si.edu/mci/downloads/AgeofPlasticSymposiumAnnouncement.pdf