The Art of Storytelling in Exhibitions

Our challenge should be to provoke and inspire, to get our visitors thinking and hope that they leave our exhibitions just a little bit changed.
Our inspiration is Freeman Tilden. In many ways, his book, Interpreting Our Heritage, is as relevant today as it was when he wrote it in 1957. His ideas are brought to light again within this Art of Storytelling tool.
Our goal is to go further than just presenting information. As Freeman Tilden said, our challenge is:

“To reveal… something of the beauty and wonder, the inspiration and meaning that lie behind what the visitor can perceive.”

For those of us working in institutions both small and large, the art of storytelling in exhibitions can be a challenge.

This tool seeks to inspire you to create exhibits that do more than just present information. Our hope is that it will help you on your path to great storytelling in your exhibitions.

While each visitor is unique, visitors do also share some common characteristics. We all respond to stories. And every visitor – well, most of them anyway – is curious about the world.

 

How do visitors behave?

Research reveals how narrow our window is for an exhibition to have any impact. On average a visit consists of four parts:

• Orientation (3 to 10 minutes).
• Intensive looking (15 to 40 minutes). In this time visitors follow the order intended by the museum.
• Cruising (20 to 40 minutes). Visitors are hoping to see everything but only selecting a few parts.
• Leave-taking (3 to 10 minutes). Visitors are thinking about the exit, the washrooms, where they parked the car, where to eat lunch, and so on.

The timing will certainly depend on the size of your exhibition and museum, but regardless, we have limited time to captivate our visitors.

 

About museum fatigue

Museum fatigue happens in less than one hour. It is the result of physical and mental overload. In fact, museum fatigue was first studied in 1928. The study established that mental fatigue was more consequential than physical fatigue.

The quality of our storytelling can help mitigate museum fatigue.

 

Knowing your visitors

It is really important to decide who your exhibition is for. Many museums will respond to this challenge by saying “it’s for everyone.” Of course, a museum aspires to be enjoyed by all. However, it is important to get more specific about your audience when developing an exhibition. Successful exhibitions are particular. They are shaped around what will work for the exhibition’s primary audience. When planning your exhibition’s story, ask yourself a series of questions:

For this exhibition…

1. Who do we most want to appeal to? Try to be specific. Who are your main audiences… families, academics, Uruguayan tourists, extra-terrestrials? You should be able to pick a few main categories.
2. What sort of age range must the exhibition work for?
3. What kind of groups will visit? Schools, tourists, families, seniors?
4. What might they already know about this subject?
5. In which language(s) do they like being addressed?
6. What kind of language excludes them?

Organizing the Story

Now that we have our visitors’ needs, wants and learning styles top of-mind and once we know who our story is meant to be for…..we can think about the story we want to create.

A great book has parts: an introduction, chapters, a conclusion. Great stories have parts too. They are a little like music: a prologue, moments of tension, moments of rest, a climax and an ending.

The building blocks of a story for a great exhibition are:

• The Big Idea
• Main Themes
• Messages

It is important to organize our exhibit’s story before we begin to design. The first critical idea that should be addressed is: what is the story about?

Finding the Big Idea

Good exhibitions are built around a central idea. It’s like having an “angle”or thesis or point of view. By identifying The Big Idea you are telling the visitor that there is a reason for the exhibition. Good exhibitions have a purpose; without one, the exhibition is simply conveying information.

What is The Big Idea?

1. It is only one sentence long.
2. It is the central purpose of the exhibition.
3. It is the single notion that you want your target audience or visitors to leave with.
4. All themes and messages in your exhibition should support The Big Idea.

How do I come up with The Big Idea?

It is not easy to capture the Big Idea; and the challenge is not about wordsmithing. The challenge is making sure your exhibition has a real purpose.

By the way, once you have your Big Idea, it will become the foundation of the introduction to your exhibit.

Find the big idea…

1. In a nutshell, what is the exhibition about?
2. So what? Why should visitors care?
3. What is the most important thing you want visitors to leave with?

Other Building Blocks of the Exhibition Story

Before you start to design, you should figure out all of the main building blocks of your story:

• The Big Idea
• Main Themes
• Messages (the hard information you want each exhibition theme to convey)

The themes and messages should all support and link back to The Big Idea.

Interpretive Plans

What are some parts to consider in an Interpretive Plan?

• The Big Idea
• Visitor Experience Goals
• Learning Objectives
• Interpretive content:
• Themes
• Messages
• Stories
• Assets: objects, specimens, photographs, documents, media
  (film, video, audio)
• Tools
• Other notes on the Visitors’ Experience

Let’s define some terms:

An Interpretive Plan: a tool for organizing the story. It sets direction or the story, keeps the story organized and captures all the relevant information you’ll need upon which to base your exhibition design.

Big Idea: the central purpose of the exhibition.

Visitor Experience Goal: the effect you want to have on visitors.
Example: Immerse visitors in the sounds and sights of a Viking ship.

Learning Objective: what you want the visitor to take away.
Example: Norse people had a rich and complex culture.
Learning Objectives hold the exhibition accountable. When doing visitor surveys, you can ask visitors what they learned and find out if your Learning Objectives were met.

Theme: a critical idea. Exhibitions might have several themes; all of them should support and link to the Big Idea.
Example: To be Viking meant taking on a mission.
The theme itself may be supported by a series of mini-ideas or subthemes.

Message: hard information that we want to convey to support a theme.
Example: The word Viking means “a man on an adventure.”

Messages can be ranked:
1. Primary Message (what the exhibition must communicate)
2. Secondary Message (what the exhibition should communicate)
3. Tertiary Message (a nice message to include if there is room)

Story: a story that you tell to support your Big Idea, illustrate your theme and convey your messages.
Example: Erik the Red and his journey to Greenland.

Assets: collection objects, specimens, photographs, documents, and/
or ephemera

Tools: labels and text, display cases, graphics, digital media, interactives, live interpreters

Principles of Interpretation

Telling a story clearly and powerfully in an exhibition takes work. It is much easier to communicate straight facts or information. It is harder – but much more effective – to tell a story that connects with the visitor.

In his 1957 book, Interpreting Our Heritage, Freeman Tilden described the principles of interpretation. He said, “Information, as such, is not interpretation. Interpretation is revelation based upon information.” These principles get at the heart of storytelling. Let’s explore each one.

Principle 1

Interpretation must relate to something within the visitor.

The visitor’s main interest is in whatever touches his or her personality, experiences, and values.
Every visitor seeks to be engaged and connect to a story. Visitors do not want to be lectured. How can we turn “information” into “interpretation” – in other words, how can we create a compelling story that engages the visitor’s imagination?

Example: Mammoth on the Grasslands

Information: Mammoths existed in this location 10,000 years ago. They were browsers. They traveled the grasslands in herds.

Interpretation: Let’s pause here for a few seconds. A few thousand years ago, mammoths roamed the plains in great herds. Chances are, they browsed right where you are standing now.

With effective interpretation, the writer speaks to the reader directly and appeals to their imagination.

 

Principle 2

Interpretation is revelation based upon information.

Great interpretation does not just present the facts or details, it reveals something more.

Example: The case of Thelma Barlow’s pass.

Information: In 1941 a German bomber attacked an aircraft factory in England. This worker’s pass was found in the wreckage.

Interpretation: War changed everything. Thousands of women left their homes and families to work in factories to support the war effort. But it was not safe. After a bomber destroyed the factory where she worked, Thelma Barlow’s pass was her only possession that was not destroyed. Luckily, Thelma survived.

Here, the interpretive text reads like a story. More importantly, it moves beyond the fact of Thelma’s pass and the bombing. It reveals that women were working in non-traditional roles. The world had indeed changed.

 

Objects generally do not speak for themselves, though every object has a story. Our obligation is to find – and then reveal – its story.

 

Principle 3

Interpretation is an art, which combines many arts.

Freeman Tilden said:
“You can have a sense of joy at hearing a lovely chord without being a virtuoso.”

A successful exhibition is like a piece of orchestral music. It requires many “instruments” to create the beautiful chord.

Example: David Bowie is at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

How many arts are at play here to tell the remarkable story of David Bowie’s influence?
Answer?

At least eight!
1. The Story (or Text)
2. Graphic Design3. Object display
4. Display lighting
5. Lighting effects
6. Video projection
7. Sound
8. Architecture

Although the use of multiple arts within an exhibition is dependent on your museum’s human and other resources, challenge yourself to be creative. Try to incorporate a few extra artistic elements within your next exhibit.

 

Principle 4

Interpretation is not instruction, but provocation.

Provocation does not necessarily mean to anger or upset people. It can simply be about getting the visitor to think.

A master class in interpretation is found in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s exhibition: Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story.

This remarkable exhibition invites the visitor to explore Daniel’s home, to discover his letters and journals. It is provocative. We are not meant to emerge from the exhibition unchanged. The objective is to get us thinking. The exhibit and story places us in Daniel’s home – in fact, in his shoes – and challenges us to think:

• How did the Holocaust effect a young child?

  

• What was it like to be under such threat?
• How would I have acted?

The exhibition was a bold move by the Museum, especially when you consider this is an exhibition designed for children; but the museum tells its story well and its interpretation is effective. Few visitors will forget this exhibit or Daniel’s story.

From Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story

Dear Diary,
I feel cut off from the world. There are no
telephones here. There are even rules about
mail. I can only send letters to friends back
home on certain days.
Do they even get my letters?
Daniel

 

Principle 5

Interpretation must address the whole.

A listing of facts is the best way to bore the visitor. It is far better to be given a glimpse of a bigger picture.

Information: In 1903, women who were part of the suffragette movement in Britain illegally stamped the message “Votes for Women” on pennies.

Interpretation: Power is not given willingly – but taken. On the front side of this coin is a portrait of Edward VII, balding, and powerful… right over his face is the word “Votes,” over his ear, “for” and across his neck, “Women.” The message on the coin was meant to circulate widely and indefinitely.

The British Museum chose this modest object to be part of their History of the World in 100 Objects project. In doing so they give us a marvelous piece of interpretation showing how a simple object has power to be a portal into a bigger world.

Interpretation is the business of breaking the silence that surrounds objects.

 

Principle 6

Interpretation to children is not a diluted form of interpretation to adults.

Interpretation for children demands a fundamentally different approach.

Children learn by listening, doing, touching,and examining things.
Suburbia is an exploratory 1960s kitchen environment. Content is delivered and discovered along the way.

 

Principle 7

Be brief.

Remember what was mentioned about “museum fatigue?” Don’t forget that your visitors are usually standing as they explore.

Freeman Tilden urged us to be brief and to cultivate the power of understatement. After all, a beautiful scene is not made more beautiful by calling it beautiful. Freeman was impressed by the way people had, in the past, marked historic sites. Often, he felt that their brevity could teach us a thing or two.

Our long descriptions of events, pale by comparison to a simple great quote.

Example: Historic marker at Lexington Green

Line of the Minute Men
April 19, 1775
‘Stand your ground
Don’t fire unless fired upon
But if they mean to have a war
Let it begin here’
– Captain Parker

The quote from Captain Parker says it all. It was at this site that the opening shots were fired, starting the American Revolutionary War.

Principle 8

It’s about love.

Freeman Tilden captured this notion, years before The Beatles!
He said:

Whatever is written without enthusiasm will be read
without interest. You must be in love with your material
and in turn with your fellow man.

We should be eager to tell our story and share it with our visitors. After all, we are the story’s keeper and our mission is to share it.

When we communicate our story, we must have empathy for – and interest in – the visitor’s situation: their knowledge, their interest and their energy.

We (the Museum) are the host. We should be gracious and kind. While we may have important knowledge to share, we are not above our visitors.

We must always remember our visitors come first.

 

Final Thoughts

It is hard work to tell stories well. It is much easier to simply relate facts and information. But, seeking the story is worthwhile. It is worthy of our time and energy!

If we tell our stories well, our visitors are more likely to become interested and engaged. And that’s the whole point!

So remember these few parting thoughts:

Know your visitors
Decide which audience(s) you exhibition is for. Rank them. Develop the exhibition for them.

Respect your visitors
Interpretation is about making sure your visitors don’t feel dumb – or numb – in response to what you are saying.

Find The Big Idea
It will elevate the “conversation” between exhibition and visitor if you have a central point. Every good story has a big idea. In fact, every object label has one too.

Use Freeman Tilden’s principles of interpretation
Turn the information into a story. Be provocative. Get creative and be enthusiastic about the story you want to convey.

Be brief
Visitors have limited ability to focus. They become overloaded quickly. Keep it short. Get to the point.

Cultivate self-criticism
Learn through observation what works and what does not. Don’t be afraid to start again.

Further Reading and Resources

About Visitors