Getting Underway:
Laying the Groundwork for Successful Museum Exhibits
Dean Krimmel (deankrimmel@qm2.org), May 2008


Begin with Questions, Lots of Questions
The first step in planning a successful exhibit is to ask the right questions— and immediately begin digging deeper to answer them as candidly and honestly as possible. The cliché about things not being as simple as they seem applies to every exhibit project I’ve ever worked on. (The “keep it simple stupid” part comes later.) By questioning assumptions and looking beyond the obvious, you will identify your most compelling and significant stories, your institutional strengths and your core values. Ask yourselves: why should this story be told now? Why are we the best people to present it? What do we do really, really well--and how can we do something that stands out? What do we care most deeply about as an organization? How can our organizational values inform and give shape to this project?

These exploratory discussions also help you identify other reasons for undertaking what is always a costly, time-consuming and draining endeavor. Some strategic purposes, as it were, which will help others both inside and outside your organization feel connected to your project. And, while often frustrating for do-it-now museum folks, these philosophical conversations can help build interest, and ownership among a broad range of people.

Ask yourselves:

Broaden your vision, get others on board
Given the resources involved, exhibits must "sell" themselves to a variety of people within the institution, from marketing directors to the board of trustees. Help build your case, while also tweaking peoples' notion of what an exhibit represents, by articulating the many "strategic" reasons for undertaking the project. Some will be patently obvious while others will prove especially valuable in discussions with those whose help and support you need. A broad, deeply held vision will attract others to your cause and encourage them to make meaningful contributions in ways you might have never imagined.

Have you considered how your exhibit project might:

Raise the Bar: Envisioning the Ideal Visitor Experience
Few things are as varied, and as difficult to do well, as museum exhibits. A British study of the museum visitor experience, cited in Beverly Serrell’s 1996 work on exhibit labels, provides us with a list of characteristics of the "ideal exhibit." As you begin your exhibit development process, discuss this list (and add to it), and consider what you might do to so impress your visitors that they become your exhibit's best salesmen.

In an ideal world, your exhibit will 

Greats exhibit are memorable and multi-sensory; they feel like personal experiences.

Consider How People Learn in Museums
The successful museum experience, according to museum education authority George Hein, is one that leads to learning. We create the conditions for learning by including these six factors in our thinking, planning and execution.

Hein also offers some useful generalizations to keep in mind: 

…And, Consider Why People Visit
John Falk and Beverly Sheppard, in their 2006 publication Thriving in the Knowledge Age, offer a useful, and refreshing, model that describes visitors’ “entry motivation.” What I especially like is the shift in focus from simple demographics (e.g., family group, professionals, seniors, couples visiting along, school children) to decision making and motivation. If you’re like me, your motivation for visiting museums may vary according to many factors including the type of museum, exhibit topic, who I’m going with, day of the week, etc. So while the following model is hardly the last word in audience research, it does offer some interesting food for thought.

Category/Motivation (And whether driven by self or others)

Now, off you go
Laying a broad foundation for your project will help you and your colleagues throughout your exhibit development process as you are bombarded by a seemingly endless list of decisions about content, interpretive techniques, design, visitor experience, artifact and graphic selection, and so on. Let me know what you find useful in these notes, and what you would include to improve the work that we do.


A Brief Bibliography

Blatti, Jo, editor. Past Meets Present: Essays about Historic Interpretation and Public Audiences. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987.

Falk, John H. and Lynn D. Dierking. Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and  the Making of Meaning. AltaMira Press, 2000.

_________ and Beverly K. Sheppard. Thriving in the Knowledge Age: New Business Models  for Museums and Other Cultural Organizations. AltaMira Press, 2006.

Hein, George. Learning in the Museum. Routedge, 1998.

Serrell, Beverly. Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach. AltaMira Press, 1996.
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