by Nancy A. Ruhling

Ralph Appelbaum always knew he wanted to design museums. From his college days, to a stint with the Peace Corps in Peru, and traveling the Silk Route from Turkey to Afghanistan as a young man, Appelbaum was inspired by the architecture and people he came across. Appelbaum is now head of the largest interpretive museum design firm in the world. Appelbaum’s designs hit home with viewers because they adhere to a simple policy; with each project Appelbaum is sure to use images and objects that emphasize the bond between viewer and subject. “The more you know about people and the worlds of culture they create, the more empathy you have,” says Appelbaum whose firm has worked on more than 250 projects worldwide since it was formed three decades ago. These ideas have been applied to all Appelbaum’s projects from the Newseum (an interactive museum of news), the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.