Communicating Concepts
This article originally appeared in Exchange, a
newsletter published by the Wisconsin Historical
Society. (Volume
24, Number 3, May/June 1982) It is the fifth 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.
People who prepare museum exhibits share a common frustration. Visitors seldom spend enough time in exhibits to learn all that is there. Museums that observe people as they move through exhibits may find average visitors spending only fifteen or twenty seconds at a complex case or panel. Visitors frequently spend less time than it takes just to read the labels, much less read the labels, look at the photographs, scrutinize the historic documents or objects, and relate these materials one to the other. Instead of reacting in frustration, museums should first ask why visitors spend so little time in exhibits and what the appropriate educational goals of an interpretive exhibit should be.
Viewing a museum exhibit is an experience very different from other types of education. Exhibits occupy space, and the visitor's comfort within that space becomes an important factor in the educational experience. Exhibits require walking, standing, looking up, looking down, and reading words of different sizes at different distances. This combination can tire visitors quickly. Exhibits are also full of distractions. A common distraction is other visitors. Exhibits have a "bear went over the mountain" quality, enticing visitors to move to the interesting objects they see out of the corner of their eyes. Finally, a stop at the museum may be only a part of the visitor's day. The remainder of his itinerary may press the visitor to move quickly.
One conclusion about exhibits that people pass through quickly might be that they are simply bad exhibits. However, the situation is not so simple. While it is true that more interesting and educational exhibits should hold attention longer, visitors are subject to fatigue and distractions in even the best exhibits. These factors make exhibits poor vehicles for conveying large amounts of detailed information. Exhibits work best at presenting a limited number of broad concepts. Because exhibits use objects, documents, and other tangible materials, the real strength of exhibits lies in their ability to help visitors retain the main concepts presented. Seeing is not only believing but remembering.
In a local historical society museum, most good interpretive exhibits should focus on three to six main concepts about a historical topic. Suppose that the local historical society decides to do an exhibit on The History of Communications in Smithville. The first important concept might be presented in a section called "Waiting for Word." The focus would be the isolation of the community in its early years when it relied upon the mail and newspapers for all information. A second section might be "Over the Wire," the increased speed of communications brought about by the telegraph and telephone. The alteration of community attitudes and activities related to the coming of radio and television could be the final concept in the exhibit. For fun it might be called "You Are There." While visitors might forget exactly how many days Smithville's early residents waited for the results of a presidential election, they would remember the concept that the news of important events got to town well after the events occurred. The date and location of Smithville's first telephone might not be remembered, but the concept that it provided a rapid link to Johnson City should be. Memory of an exhibit's details may be transitory, but the three to six main concepts ought to become part of the visitor's permanent knowledge.
A person planning an exhibit can easily lose track of conveying main concepts if he becomes too close to a myriad of interesting details about the exhibit topic. One way to stay on track is to start by writing an exhibit statement. This statement begins with a two-or-three-sentence summary of the exhibit topic. Second, it lists in a phrase or sentence each of the three to six main concepts in the exhibit. Next, the statement gives examples of objects and historic materials necessary to represent each concept. Finally, the exhibit statement turns the phrasing of the main concepts around by asking three to six important questions that the visitor should be able to answer after seeing the exhibit.
During the planning stage, an exhibit statement helps to focus the educational goals of an interpretive exhibit on main concepts. This step is followed by organizing the written information and historic materials in the completed exhibit to concentrate on the concept level of communication. That is the subject of the next column in this series.
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