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 Exhibit Form an Exhibit Team Identify the Big Idea (the story) Organize the layout Choose objects that tell your story Display 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 Idea One 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 Objects Well 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 are Restrooms, Layout if not obvious Labels are easy to read There is room to gather together to look at exhibits Enough light to see Temperature is comfortable Places 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 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 words Interpret individual objects/illustrations Start by talking about the objects Then relate to Big Idea

Object Details 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)

Writing Use 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 Titles Use only small amounts of Italic Use limited number of fonts

Use a Simple Font

ColorColorColorColor 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 Captions Hands 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 board Spray Mount (well ventilated space) Shake up spray mount Place label paper on newspaper (face down) Coat paper evenly with spray Hit edges Don’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