1. Think of the answer silently
Bellringer: What are some different
types of exhibits in museums?

2. Virtual Tour
• Smithsonian Natural History
– http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/
• Talk about what we noticed during the tour

3. Museum Flow
• “The way in which a work is displayed influences our
perception of it and our reactions to it”
• A museum is not just arranged in a line, chronologically
• Importance of presence, presentation and
representation.
– By presence, we mean the bringing together within a given
space of a set of material objects
– By presentation we can highlight different things to draw
attention or evoke emotion at certain times in the story
– By representation, we understand that many different
objects brought together can make a whole

4. Museum Flow
• We have to tell a story through our objects,
exhibits, and interpretations
– Start with the beginning of our story (the theme
we have chosen) at the entrance and the end of
the story at the exit
– Enrich the story through the exhibits

5. Building a Story
• Create a flow so patrons
can easily see how the
history is connected
– Move from the
beginning to the end
– Visualize the story
• Also need to create easy
foot traffic
– Natural path
– Easy to move in
• Use given space to
create this story

6. OR….
OR, you can simply place a series of exhibitions
around and have the audience create the
story themselves

7. Interactive vs. “Do Not Touch”
• Art Museums are generally “Do Not Touch”, as
our museums with artifacts
• Interactive museums encourage patrons to
experience the subject matter
• Can have both

8. Evoking Emotion
• Holocaust Museum, Museum of Slavery
– Exhibits can be placed in the flow to have a large
impact on the patron
– The presentation of the material can also be
manipulated to evoke the most emotion

9. Other Exhibits
• Use of metaphors and art as well as history to
best explain your story
• Use of technology
– Video, audio

10. Making Decisions
• Where will our museum be? Munier Center or Old
Parish Center?
• How will we arrange it? Beginning to end or nonlinear?
• In what order will our exhibits/topics be?
• What do we want to include? Documents? Interactive
material? Objects?
• Do we want to have a centerpiece?
• Do we want to evoke a certain emotion? If so, how?
• Should we include non-historical materials to better
tell the story?
• What materials do we need?

11. Creating Flow
• In small groups, sketch a floor plan for our
museum
• Share and finalize floor plan

12. In Partners
• Based on floor plan and exhibits, divide up
work between partners
• Research in pairs (computer lab)
• Finalize exhibits and materials