Michigan State University Extension
Tourism Educational Materials - 33739803
06/06/02
Marketing Your Community Park and Recreation Resources Developing Exhibits
Ackert, Gary A.
McDonough, Maureen H.
Michigan State University
E1932
33.73
1986
So you want to produce an exhibit for your organization!
Great! But before you start, there are some things you
need to know. First, you need to know what an exhibit is.
You see exhibits all the time. They can be found in
places such as shopping malls, fairs, airports, schools,
museums, and parks. Yet if you were asked to describe an
exhibit would you say:
* a glass case with objects inside it?
* a collection of objects with labels attached?
* photographs displayed on a board?
* a group of objects displayed with enough written
information to be a book?
* a sign with only words on it?
If you were to say that an exhibit is one of the above,
you are only partially right. An exhibit is much more
than just a display. An exhibit tells a story in addition
to displaying objects. It is three-dimensional and
provides both depth and perspective to the objects it
uses. Exhibits are very versatile in the number of ways
they can tell a story. They can be designed to be
handled, smelled or listened to, as well as read.
Finally, just as a good story has one major plot, or
theme, so does a good exhibit. The theme of an exhibit is
the one point, or message, that you want to get across to
your audience.
There are many different types of exhibits. They can
range from a simple aquarium to a complex model. Yet all
exhibits can be classified into five broad categories:
1) Flatwork - A flatwork exhibit is a two dimensional
flat panel that uses both labeling and illustrations
and/or photographs to tell a story. The photographs are
used to approximate 3-dimensionality.
2) Object exhibits - This type of exhibit uses original
objects or replicas to tell a story. One advantage of
this type of exhibit is that the objects can be protected
while on display.
3) Dioramas - Through the use of models and curved,
painted backgrounds to add a sense of depth, dioramas are
used to illustrate events, natural scenery or facilities.
4) Models - Models are used to represent objects that are
too large or too small to be shown in their original
size. A model is usually used to show equipment,
architectural features, or topographical features.
5) Natural exhibits - A natural exhibit uses live plants
or animals. Examples are aquariums and terrariums.
Basic Exhibit Principles
To create effective exhibits, follow these eight
principles:
1) Stick to one theme.
2) Be targeted towards a specific audience.
3) Be brief
4) Be simple to read and understand.
5) Be legible.
6) Grab people's attention.
7) Unite all objects, text and other materials to present
one story.
8) Be easy to follow, or flow, from point to point and
from beginning to end.
How do you design an exhibit to meet all these
principles? The answer is in good planning! Producing an
exhibit can be divided into four stages:
1) The Planning Stage
2) The Design Stage
3) The Construction Stage
4) The Evaluation Stage
This bulletin will take you through these stages to help
you produce an effective exhibit.
Step 1 - The Planning Stage
There are seven things to consider when planning an
exhibit:
1) Do you really want an exhibit?
Is using an exhibit the best way to present your message
to your audience? Exhibits have the following
advantages:
a) Using an exhibit allows you to use original objects
and to protect them while they are on display.
b) Visitors can move through your exhibit at their own
pace.
c) Any object can be enlarged or reduced.
d) They are always available to people when in place.
e) They can free staff for other programs and activities.
f) They can bring the out-of-doors inside and save
natural objects from abuse.
They also have the following disadvantages:
a) Exhibits are impersonal. They eliminate personal
interaction with staff and cannot answer questions.
b) Exhibits are not good for relating long or complicated
messages.
c) Exhibits have no souvenir value. People cannot take
them home.
2)What is your theme going to be?
The exhibit theme is the main point you want your
audience to remember. To develop your theme, start out
with a general topic and narrow it down to one main point
that you want to get across. Then, take this main point
and state it in a sentence. Be sure that it is stated
clearly and concisely. Example: You run a camp in
Northern Michigan. You have decided to develop an exhibit
for a camping exposition. What would your theme be? If
you said, "my camp," you are wrong. Why? Because your
camp is the topic of your exhibit. The theme would be
what you want to tell people about your camp. If you
wanted to tell people that your camp has a unique
combination of modern bath facilities and secluded camp
sites, your theme might be:
"Joe's campground offers both the luxury of modern bath
facilities and the privacy of secluded campsites."
Everything in your exhibit would relate to this theme.
3) What are your objectives for your exhibit? Purposes
and objectives are statements of the impact you want to
have on viewers of your exhibit. Purposes are general
statements of direction while objectives are the specific
things you want your audience to know or feel or do.
Example:
You want to do an exhibit on good deer hunting areas in
Michigan. You decide to stress those areas that do not
get a lot of hunter use.
Theme:
"There are a lot of good deer hunting areas that are not
getting much use by hunters."
Purpose:
"To make hunters aware of these little used good hunting
areas."
Objective:
"Increase the number of hunters using these little used
areas by 10%."
Purposes and objectives are the guidelines along which
you will develop your message. To work for you, they need
to be stated as precisely as possible.
4) Who is your audience?
The next step is to decide who you want to reach with
your message. Who do you want your audience to be?
Knowing your audience is as important as deciding that
you want to produce an exhibit. Knowing the
characteristics of your potential audience will help you
determine what concepts to cover, the terminology to use,
and appropriate exhibit design. Important characteristics
are:
1) Social/economic background: urban? rural? interests?
families? activities?
2) Familiarity with your message: beginners? amateurs?
repeat users? locals?
3) Age and education: preschoolers? adolescents? mature
adults? amount of education? educational specialty?
4) Physical condition: where is "eye level"? height of
audience? range of head movement? wheelchairs? are people
standing or sitting?
5) What is the story you are trying to tell? Now you are
ready to develop your message, or story. Your theme
becomes the starting point for developing your storyline.
Any information that is used in your story must be
directly tied to your theme. Your objectives are
guidelines for developing your story.
There are many ways to develop a story. One useful way is
to use an index card system (fig. A). To do this requires
four steps:
1) Decide on the major points that will clearly and
quickly convey your theme and write each one out on a 3 x
5 index card. Keep the number to a minimum under three!
2) For each main point brainstorm secondary points that
support or explain the main point and write out each
secondary point on a 3 x 5 index card.
3) Organize and sequence each main point and its
secondary points in a logical order.
4) Look through each group and remove any secondary point
that does not relate in a clear and concise manner to the
main point or to your goals and objectives; sort until
there are only 1 or 2 cards left for each main point.
6) What objects and labels should you use?
The next step is to decide what objects you are going to
use to tell your story. Examples of objects include
photographs, historical artifacts, animals (live or
mounted), and labels. The most important criterion for
selecting objects is that they tell your story.
Displaying 50 different rocks simply because you have
them does not make an effective exhibit. Do you have the
objects you need? Where can you get those you don't have?
A second step in selecting objects for your exhibit
involves deciding what kind of words or labels you need
to convey your message. A label is like a highway
directional sign. It guides and directs a person through
an exhibit.
There are three kinds of labels: the title, sub-titles,
and story labels. Each one corresponds to a specific part
of your story. The title is used to state the exhibit
theme. Subtitle labels are used to relate the main points
of the exhibit. The story labels are used to relate the
secondary points.
Yet, just as it is possible to get lost on a highway
without clear directions, so it is possible to get lost
in the message of an exhibit if the labeling is not
clearly understood. For labeling to be clear it must:
A. Be brief
On average, people spend between 30 and 40 seconds at an
exhibit. If they are standing, it may be less. Here are
tips for keeping your labels brief:
1) Do not over label your exhibit.
2) Keep the number of words per label to a minimum:
Titles use 6 to 8 words, subtitles and story labels use
less than 25 words.
3) Be sure to present your main point at the begin ning
of your label.
4) Make each line of text shorter than the line before
it.
B. Be easy to understand. Do not use technical jargon or
abstract vocabulary.
C. Be legible. Four factors can affect the legibility of
your exhibit:
1) Lettering size: Calculate the viewing distance of the
audience. For a viewing distance of 3 to 6 feet the
recommended lettering size would
be:
Title 1 to 3 inches; Sub-titles - 1/2 inch, (minimum);
Story label - 1/4 inch; (minimum)
For a viewing distance over six feet, double the letter
size for every three feet of increase. Do not use
typewritten labels. Typewriter print is too small and
will look ragged when enlarged.
2) Style of lettering: Ornamental or flowery lettering is
difficult to read. The easiest style to read is sans
serif or gothic. For examples of these and other letter
styles see your local printer. Use both capital and lower
case letters in your labels because they are much easier
to read than all capital letters.
3) Lettering and label colors: Choose colors that relate
to your theme (red for fire, browns for rustic). Use dark
lettering on a light background. Avoid black and white
lettering. If you need help or want more suggestions on
how to choose colors, contact your local paint store for
assistance. Many paint stores have an interior designer
on staff to answer your questions.
4) Line spacing: Careful line spacing makes labels easier
to read.
7) What materials and tools do you have available to
build your exhibit?
You can make exhibits from anything. Your only limits are
your imagination, your budget, and what you can scrounge!
At this stage you need to assess what materials you need
and what you have available to you.
Some of the more commonly used materials are plywood,
particleboard, upson board, pegboard, masonite, plastics,
fabrics, glass, metals, paint, various fastening devices,
labeling supplies, and lettering kits.
Many of the tools you will need can be found right in
your basement. Saws, hammers, screws, and glue are things
that many people already have.
8) What is your budget?
This is the ultimate limiting factor. You need to have a
clear picture of what you can spend so that you
can choose between alternatives in exhibit design.
Step 2 - The Design Stage
Now that the planning stage is complete you are ready to
design your exhibit. There are a number of things to be
considered when deciding on a design:
1) Amount of available space
2) Type and size of exhibit
3) Arrangement of objects and labels
The arrangement of objects and labels is critical to the
effectiveness of an exhibit. Arrangement is an important
attention getter and will have an impact on exhibit unity
and flow.
The exhibit title should be an effective attention
getter. It should be the first thing someone sees in an
exhibit. Catchy phrases and questions are good to use for
titles because they grab people's attention by raising
their curiosity. Never use the name of your organization
as the primary exhibit title.
EXAMPLES:
"Come to where the air is clean and the lakes are blue!"
or"Come to Michigan, if s all here waiting for you!"
or
"Fun in the sun with great people, too!"
Once you have the attention of your audience, you need to
keep it. A good way to do that is through the use of
action oriented words in subtitles and story labels.
Action verbs and adjectives will help keep viewing minds
and imaginations involved with the story. Another way to
grab and keep attention with labels is through the use of
bold faced lettering.
The arrangement of objects in the exhibit can help keep
and focus attention. Emphasis can be placed on different
objects through physical arrangement or use of lighting.
Another way to use objects to draw attention is to show
them as they would have been used by people.
Color is an effective attention getter. Here are some
tips on choosing exhibit colors:
* Always make sure that color choices relate to your
theme.
* Light colors make objects look bigger than they really
are; dark colors make them look smaller.
* Reds, oranges, and yellow are good for adding a sense
of warmth or activity to an object. Blues add a sense of
coolness or passiveness.
* Use color intensity to get and direct people's
attention. High intensity colors, such as red, catch
people's eyes and pull them toward the color and the
object or label.
Motion and sound can be used in exhibits to draw
attention. Moving parts or unfamiliar or unexpected
sounds can make your exhibit stand out. They can also
fascinate people and hold their attention.
Blank space is another tool in exhibit design. The more
blank space around labels and objects, the quicker and
easier a person will be able to focus on them. If your
exhibit is going to be competing with other exhibits,
more blank space will likely attract more people to your
exhibit. Using blank space also helps keep your story to
the basic points you want to cover. A lot of blank space
means that there are fewer labels or objects.
Objects and labels need to be arranged so that they
convey a sense of unity to the viewer. Unity deals with
the exhibit's tie or relationship to its theme. Do all
materials contribute to the story? All materials used in
the exhibit must also reflect the theme. For your exhibit
to be effective it must present, and look like, one idea.
If your story and materials do not reflect your theme,
your audience will walk away without your message.
Finally, arrange exhibit material to facilitate smooth
flow from beginning to end. Smooth flow means that one
idea follows another in logical succession. After all,
you are trying to tell a story. In addition, lay out all
information presented in a clockwise pattern, moving from
left to right. This is how most people in our society
read and how other visual materials, like books, are laid
out.
4) Maintenance needs
How will you keep it clean or replace damaged parts?
Will you need any special cleaning products or other
special supplies? Can you get them? If you cannot insure
proper maintenance, you may want to reconsider your
design.
Step 3 - The Construction Stage
Now that you have planned and designed your exhibit or
exhibit series, it is time to lay it out to see if it is
really what you want. This is known as making a mock-up.
A mock-up is a blueprint of what your exhibit or series
should look like. A mock-up is usually done on a large
piece of poster board and includes the following:
1) A layout of your exhibit design, showing where your
objects and labels will be placed.
2) Labels with the actual text to be used.
3) Actual colors to be used.
4) Actual dimensions of your exhibit.
The second step in exhibit construction is building a
scale model to double check dimensions, layout and
viewing distance. Use simple materials like index cards,
straight pins, and toothpicks. Include cutout models of
people to check your scale. By doing this, you will
likely catch, and be able to correct, little problems in
your design before you construct your exhibit. If you
skip this stage, you may be unpleasantly surprised when
you begin actual construction.
You have come to the end of the process. The final step
is the actual construction. If you have followed all the
steps listed above, you should have a terrific exhibit.
Step 4 - Evaluation
An exhibit is never really finished. As you begin to use
your exhibit observe your audience. Do people stop at
your exhibit? How long do they stay? Do viewers do
whatever it is you wanted them to according to your
objectives? Talk to some viewers. See what they find
interesting or confusing in your exhibit. Be willing to
use this information to change your exhibit if there are
problems. Finally, be willing to change it even if there
are no problems. No single exhibit should be used
forever.
Community Resources
An essential skill in developing exhibits is that of
creative scrounging. Many things you need can be found in
your home or neighborhood or community. This includes
design and graphic assistance as well as donations of
materials, both new and used. Use your imagination and
planning, designing, and constructing your exhibit can
become a true organization or community effort.
Conclusion
Good exhibits take a great deal of thought and planning.
Don't forget the basic principles of exhibit design
presented earlier in this bulletin. Your exhibit
represents you to those who view it. Make it good and
make it count!
Other Sources of Information
Lewis, Ralph H. 1976. Manual for Museums. National Park
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington,
D.C.
Sharpe, Grant W. 1982. Interpreting The Environment. John
Wiley and Sons. New York.
Neal, Arminta. 1969. Help! For the Small Museum.
Pruett Publishing, Boulder, Colorado.
Neal, Arminta. 1976. Exhibits for the Small Museum.
American Association for State and Local History,
Nashville, Tenn.
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