museum interpretation: exhibits and their captions laurel casjens utah office of museum services...
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Museum Interpretation: Exhibits and their Captions
Laurel Casjens
Utah Office of Museum Services
What makes a good interpretive exhibit?
The Big Idea: The major theme or story
Well written information
Visually appealing
Interesting objects
Well laid out/organized
Encourages exploration
Visitor is comfortable
Planning an ExhibitForm an Exhibit Team
Identify the Big Idea (the story)
Organize the layout
Choose objects that tell your storyDisplay in a safe and attractive manner
Write captions or labels telling your story
Evaluate throughout Who are your visitors?
Do they understand and are they interested?
The Big IdeaOne Sentence that tells what the Exhibit is about (identifies the story)
Identify subthemes
Reflects what you want visitors to learn and retain
Creates a cohesive whole to which everything in the exhibition relates
Visually Appealing
Clean
Not crowded
Colors are not overwhelming
Light enough to see; some objects can be spotlighted
Props (but need to be subdued)
Interesting ObjectsWell Laid out and Organized
Tell their story
Don’t crowd them
Arrange by some criterion that helps you tell their story
People want to understand what they are seeing
Encourages Exploration
Exhibit has learning objective, impacts visitors
Room for visitors to look at items together
Additional information available
Hands on, multimedia, etc.
Visitor is comfortable
Signage tells where things areRestrooms, Layout if not obvious
Labels are easy to readThere is room to gather together to look at exhibitsEnough light to seeTemperature is comfortablePlaces to sit
Captions
Captions tell the story (The Big Idea and all the sub themes and details that make the story interesting)
Must be easy to read
Need to make sense regardless of the order in which they are read
Types of Captions
Main Exhibition Title
Introductory Label
Case Titles
Group Labels
Caption Labels
Object Details
Exhibition Title
3-8 words
May have subtitle
Should reflect the Big Idea—give people some idea of what the exhibit is about
Evaluate: make sure potential visitors can figure out what you mean
Case Title
3-8 words
May have subtitle
What is the story/purpose of this case
Introductory Label
20-300 Words
Introduce the Big Idea and add an overview
Orient visitors to space (if needed)
Group Labels
20 to 150 Words
Subtheme: story told by the exhibit case or by a group of objects
Start label with information about objects.
Then relate these objects to the Big Idea
Caption Labels
20-150 words
Interpret individual objects/illustrations
Start by talking about the objects
Then relate to Big Idea
Object Details
10-20 words
What Object is, material, use, donor, date of donation, etc.
Should all be consistent in form and order
Placed next to object (numbered lists much harder to read)
WritingUse simple, clear language
Active sentences are more compelling
Vary length of sentences and paragraphs
Make chunks of text
Content
Start with object and move to Big Idea
Restrict text to important ideas
Make sure facts are correct
Placing Captions
Captions shouldn’t harm objects
No pins through textiles
No high-acid paper directly on objects
No scotch tape, tacks, staples etc. attached to object
Fonts
Choose one that is easy to Read
Can be serif (Times Roman – T g y l)
or sans-serif (Arial –T g y l)Use Bold only in TitlesUse only small amounts of ItalicUse limited number of fonts
Use a Simple Font
Color Color Color Color
Use large contrast between letters and paper
Don’t use opposite colors
Don’t use a busy background
Can use different colors for different types of captions
Voice
Group labels vs. object descriptions
White on Yellow is bad
Blue on red is bad
Black on Blue is Bad
Back Ground too Busy
This is Way Too
Large
Edit and Evaluate
Edit and Edit again; cut out ALL unneeded text
Evaluate; have people who are not part of the museum read the text to see if they understand it and find it interesting
Placing Captions
Captions shouldn’t harm objects
No pins through textiles
No high-acid paper directly on objects
No scotch tape, tacks, staples etc. attached to object
Preparing CaptionsHands on
Equipment and Supplies
Computer and Printer
Paper–pastel or earth tone, not flimsy
Mounting board
Spray Mount (permanent—not repositional)
Heavy ruler
Mat Cutter (mounted or hand held)
OR
Exacto Knife
Print Caption
Shape like a block, not a line
Print several on one sheet--Leave 2 inches between them
Put a box around them if you want—about 1/3 inch for small, more for large labels
Minimum size about 3” x 1.5”
Mounting Board
Use 4 ply acid free mount board (cut with mat cutter)
or
Foam Core (cut with exacto knife)
Mounting board should be larger than paper with captions
Mount paper to boardSpray Mount (well ventilated space)
Shake up spray mountPlace label paper on newspaper (face down)Coat paper evenly with spray
Hit edgesDon’t Glop
Place paper on board—Two people—one lays it from one side and other flattens (rubs) with cotton gloves or roller
Or use dry mount press and dry mount tissue
Leave extra space around paper (especially foam core)
Put under weight for a few hours
Trimming
Leave more space for larger labels
If you printed a box, you will cut inside the box
Bevel Cut (mat cutter)
Use mat cutter so angle leads to outside
Use 4 ply mat board
This is opposite normal mat cutting)
Vertical Cut: Exacto knife
Exacto knife along a heavy ruler
or
Mounted straight cutter
Foam Core cuts easily; mat board is also ok