Preparing to Send Edison’s “Lab” to D.C.
May 1, 2019
We are less than ten days away from traveling to our nation’s capitol to set up replicas of the Edison Botanic Research Corporation’s (EBRC) lab and rubber research gardens! Edison Ford is honored to be part of the Gardens Across America exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Gardens on display this summer from May 24 to October 1, 2019. Our display will be in a prominent location looking out across the National Mall, just a block away from the U.S. Capitol Building.
Our garden and curatorial teams, lead by Eric Frankovitch, Garden Specialist, have been busy creating and constructing the display. Most labor-intensive has been the design and build of the lab replica, an 8 x 2 x 6 ft wooden structure with a life-size cutout of Thomas Edison at a chemical work table. We’ve also created garden plot markers, plant identification plaques and educational signage about the history of Edison and the rubber research he, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone conducted in Ft. Myers. For the past few months, our garden staff and volunteers have been caring for the approximately 150 plants that will be on display in D.C.
The finishing touches are being made on the lab replica now. On May 10, Eric will load up a box truck and haul all the materials and plants needed to D.C. Upon arrival, he’ll construct the replica lab and fill our 275 sq ft garden bed with the six species of rubber research plants we’ve selected to represent the 17,000 plants Edison and his team tested in their search for an American source of natural rubber.
We hope you’ll have a chance to stop by and visit our display just outside the front doors of the U.S. Botanic Garden this summer. The Gardens Across America exhibit is free for all visitors, as is admission to the U.S. Botanic Garden.
