Botanical Bash—A Tribute
to Mary Gibson Henry
Botanical Bash is an interactive pop-up exhibition celebrating botanist Mary Gibson Henry and her plant collection housed at Drexel University's Academy of Natural Sciences.
At the heart of the display is an interactive "Make Your Own!" pressed flower station, inviting visitors to step into the role of a naturalist and create their own botanical specimens. The design features botanical illustrations, specimen displays, and educational content to recognize the art and science of plant preservation in an engaging, accessible format.
This exhibition is designed to foster curiosity and appreciation for plant life, history, and the practice of specimen collecting. By combining education with interaction, Botanical Bash bridges the gap between past and present botanical exploration, making science accessible, tactile, and personally meaningful.
Historical and biographical information about Mary Gibson Henry was referenced from the following sources:
“Mary Gibson Henry’s Extraordinary Botanical Collection Digitized” — Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Blog. https://www.anspblog.org/mary-gibson-henry-extraordinary-botanical-collection-digitized/
“Mary Gibson Henry” — Pennsylvania Conservation Heritage Project. https://paconservationheritage.org/stories/mary-gibson-henry/