The document outlines key principles of exhibit design, emphasizing the importance of themes and interpretation in creating meaningful visitor experiences. It identifies essential elements for developing effective themes and objectives, as well as various approaches to exhibit design tailored to different contexts. The text underscores the need for thoughtful organization and communication of themes to enhance visitor retention and learning.

1. Exhibit Design
Davide Prete

2. Theme, Objectives, Interpretation

3. Interpretation

4. The Importance of Interpretation
Critical Thinking and Storytelling

5. Freeman Tilden's Principles
• 1. Relate to the visitor's experience.
• 2. Interpretation is revelation based upon
information.
• 3. Interpretation is an art form.
• 4. The chief aim of interpretation is provocation.
• 5. Interpretation should present a whole.
• 6. Interpretation for children should be different
from that of adults.

6. Macro and Micro Interpretation

7. Exhibit Themes and Objectives

8. Why Develop a Theme?
• A strong exhibit has a theme.
• Meaningful interpretation has a theme.
• Themes organize and focus an exhibit and make it
meaningful to visitors.
• As Sam Ham states, “Exhibits that are designed first to
communicate a theme, and then to look attractive, will be
more effective than those that are designed solely to
look good”
• The bottom line is that “people”--your visitors—
“remember themes. They forget facts”

9. How to Develop a Theme
• Theme vs. Topic
• Unified Message
• Thesis Analogy
• Exclusion
• Distilling the Theme
• Guiding Design Decisions
• Streamlining Content
• ABCs of Exhibit Design

11. Good examples of Themes
• -“Native birds in this country are rapidly disappearing.”
• -“Studying how birds fly led to the invention of early airplanes.”
• -“Our children depend upon us to take care of their natural resources.”
• -“Preserving biodiversity is like having a life insurance policy.”
• -“Blue grass makes our water cleaner.”
• -“Careless spelunkers can upset a delicate balance of life.”
• -“Exploring caves is a sensuous experience.”
• -“Three main factors determine how geysers work.”
• -“Lincolnʼs life was often marred by tragedy.”
• -“To understand the Mayans, one must understand their fascination with the stars.”
• -“A tiny rare plant in Mexico saved the U.S. corn crop.”
• -“Most of what we know about the Universe comes from messages we read in light.”
• -“A healthy swamp—an example of a threatened ecosystem—provides many surprising
• benefits to humans.”
• -“What the artists portrayed about the West in these paintings is largely fiction, which
• had an impact on perpetuating myths about the West in other media.”

12. Poor examples of themes
• -“This exhibit is about the settlement of the
western United States.”
• -“Visitors will learn about molecular
structure, chemical reactions, and the
scientific process of analyzing unknown
substances.”

13. Exhibit Objectives
• What do you want the visitor to learn?
• Why would the visitor want to know this?
• How do you want the visitor to use this
information?

14. Exhibit Objectives
• learning objectives
• emotional objectives
• behavioral objectives

15. Conceptual
Design
Overview
• Content Research
• Brainstorming
• Sketching

16. Research
• Research in Depth
• Fieldwork and Participatory Research (Learning by
Doing)
• Photograph
• Film
• Collaborate

17. Design
• Design Brainstorm
(and DRAW!)
• Narrow, combine,
refine
• Select your
direction
• Photograph the
Space or Site
• Measure the Space
or Site and Develop
Exhibit Plan

18. Approaches
to Exhibit
Design
grandma’s attic

19. Approaches
to Exhibit
Design
art museum

20. Approaches
to Exhibit
Design
ethnographic museum

21. Approaches
to Exhibit
Design
dioramas

22. Approaches
to Exhibit
Design
immersive environments

23. Approaches
to Exhibit
Design
Hybrids

24. Selecting an Approach
• Note that the approach depends on many
variables including budget, design strength
and more.