museum lesson 2

Think of the answer silently

Bellringer: What are some different types of exhibits in museums?

Virtual Tour

• Smithsonian Natural History– http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/

• Talk about what we noticed during the tour

Museum Flow

• “The way in which a work is displayed influences our perception of it and our reactions to it”

• A museum is not just arranged in a line, chronologically• Importance of presence, presentation and

representation.– By presence, we mean the bringing together within a given

space of a set of material objects– By presentation we can highlight different things to draw

attention or evoke emotion at certain times in the story– By representation, we understand that many different

objects brought together can make a whole

Museum Flow

• We have to tell a story through our objects, exhibits, and interpretations– Start with the beginning of our story (the theme

we have chosen) at the entrance and the end of the story at the exit

– Enrich the story through the exhibits

Building a Story• Create a flow so patrons

can easily see how the history is connected– Move from the beginning

to the end– Visualize the story

• Also need to create easy foot traffic– Natural path– Easy to move in

• Use given space to create this story

OR….OR, you can simply place a series of exhibitions

around and have the audience create the story themselves

Interactive vs. “Do Not Touch”

• Art Museums are generally “Do Not Touch”, as our museums with artifacts

• Interactive museums encourage patrons to experience the subject matter

• Can have both

Evoking Emotion

• Holocaust Museum, Museum of Slavery– Exhibits can be placed in the flow to have a large

impact on the patron– The presentation of the material can also be

manipulated to evoke the most emotion

Other Exhibits

• Use of metaphors and art as well as history to best explain your story

• Use of technology– Video, audio

Making Decisions

• Where will our museum be? Munier Center or Old Parish Center?

• How will we arrange it? Beginning to end or nonlinear?• In what order will our exhibits/topics be?• What do we want to include? Documents? Interactive

material? Objects?• Do we want to have a centerpiece?• Do we want to evoke a certain emotion? If so, how?• Should we include non-historical materials to better tell the

story?• What materials do we need?

Creating Flow

• In small groups, sketch a floor plan for our museum

• Share and finalize floor plan

In Partners

• Based on floor plan and exhibits, divide up work between partners

• Research in pairs (computer lab)• Finalize exhibits and materials