Balancing Your Exhibit Program
This article originally appeared in Exchange, a
newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical
Society.
(Volume 24, Number 2, March/April 1982) It
is the fourth in a series of articles titled Exhibiting
Local Heritage. The series
features information about planning, designing
and constructing interpretive museum exhibits.
This article was written by Tom McKay, retired
local history coordinator for the Wisconsin
Historical Society.
The last three issues of Exchange have discussed interpretation and choosing topics for interpretive exhibits. Upcoming columns will discuss effective techniques for the production of interpretive exhibits. This article seems an appropriate place to emphasize another way to get the most out of interpretive exhibits: by making them part of a balanced exhibits program that includes exhibits of other kinds.
There are three basic types of historical exhibits: period settings, special collections, and interpretive exhibits. Each type serves different needs and interests of visitors. People come to a local historical society expecting to learn about the history of the community it serves. Interpretive exhibits fill this role well. They present themes that place a community's history in a wider historical context. They do so by relating information through a limited number of carefully selected ideas and objects. However, visitors also come to a museum expecting to see a large number of historic objects. To many people, the sheer number and variety of objects on exhibit provide part of the enjoyment of the experience. Immersing themselves in an environment filled with historic objects is one way visitors can learn about the past. Special collections and period settings fulfill this expectation in a way that interpretive exhibits do not.
A special collections exhibit is a display of related objects. They are grouped together because they were made of like materials or used for a similar purpose. A special collection exhibit could be a case of pressed glass, a wall of blacksmith's tools, or a temporary display of quilts. Interpretive exhibits are generally structured with a beginning, middle, and ending that visitors should see in order, but viewing a special collections exhibit can often be more flexible and informal. They invite visitors to enjoy comparing like items, and they highlight the importance of preserving historic objects.
Period settings depict surroundings as they
might have appeared at a time in the past.
The setting could be the soda fountain from
the old town drug store, a parlor of an 1890's
home, or a recreated pioneer village. Period
settings evoke a sense of the past that makes
them among the most popular exhibits in a history
museum. They are potentially a powerful educational
tool. But a word of caution is necessary. Period
settings are the hardest type of exhibit to
do well. They require an accuracy in details
that is difficult to achieve. Inaccurate period
settings promote a misleading sense of the
past. Local historical societies that want
to do good period settings should be guided
by professional
standards.
Both special collections and period settings fulfill visitors' expectations of seeing a large number of interesting objects in a museum. They present an important part of the historical record, but in a generalized way. A collection of dolls or a turn-of-the-century kitchen might vary only marginally between many localities in Wisconsin or even between Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Every good local history museum should also present and explain specific factors and events from its community's past. This is the role of interpretive exhibits. One of the keys to a good exhibit program is balance. A well-conceived mixture of period settings, special collections, and interpretive exhibits will work together to give visitors the educational and entertaining experience they hope to find when they visit a local history museum.
*Some excellent resources are: Nina Fletcher Little, Historic Houses: An Approach to Furnishing , Technical Leaflet #17. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1970.; William Seale, Re-creating the Historic House Interior. Nashville: American Association for State and Local History, 1979.; and Wilson H. Faude, The Renaissance of Mark Twain's House . Larchmont, N.Y.: Queens House, 1978. |
