The Genius of Omission
Saying less is saying more. And starting out with the right steps is a good way to say less.
“There is so much to say and so little space to say it.” This is a common sentiment expressed time and again in the text development stage of a new exhibition. Curators and researchers spend lifetimes gathering content for exhibits and it is all important. So it follows that this important information should be shared with the visitors. The problem is that visitors can absorb only so much new content at one time.
Step 1: Determine your visitor experience
Assign visitor goals to the exhibition, limiting these to two or three. Do you want visitors to know some specific content? Do you want them to feel differently? Do you want them to take some kind of action after experiencing the exhibit? Having an exhibit team agree on two to three goals for an exhibition can be frustrating, but it is good team building and always results in a better exhibit.
Step 2: Develop an exhibition theme
Themes are not topics. Themes are a complete sentence which grab the visitor and make them want to learn more. It contains the main idea of what you want visitors to experience as determined by the goals. Topics are a word or phrase which describe generally what the exhibition is about. A topic is “frogs” while a theme would be “frogs predict the future.” Themes need to be specific without being limiting. In “frogs predict the future,” text might unveil the food sources of frogs, the pesticide chain, their sensitivity to environmental changes, their life cycle, etc. In each case, any text written on these sub-topics would relate back to the general concept that frogs respond to the environment and their rise or decline in populations is an indicator on the health and future of an area.
Each exhibition should have an overarching theme which ties the goals together. Each section of the exhibition or each exhibit within the exhibition can have its own subtheme, a little more specific than the overall theme, but still related to it and to one of the identified goals.
Step 3: Write and Edit
The greatest value of a theme is in telling writers what to omit. If information does not support the theme, it should be saved for some other time or program. George Miller’s research in 1956 still stands the scrutiny of science today. He found that on the average, the human brain is capable of making sense out of 7 +/- 2 separate and new ideas at one time. The brain needs around two hours to process new information before it can take in more new concepts. Since visitors to a museum are primarily there for recreation purposes and not prepared to work hard at learning, not to mention many do not stay for two hours, we should gear our exhibit interpretation toward the “minus” end of this “rule” or no more than five new distinct and separate ideas.
“Separate and distinct ideas” in this case would be each sub-theme under our overarching exhibition theme. Illustrating each separate concept with a variety of examples and in a variety of ways drives the theme into the visitor’s brain and offers opportunities to share content. Just keep in mind that once five or so new concepts have been introduced, visitors have to dump out the first one to make room for the new one or, alternately, the new concept is just words and spills out before it ever gets “captured” and processed by the brain.
Exhibition texts which say less really do lead to saying more in the long run. Having the genius to be brave and omit information leads to a more meaningful visitor experience.
Karin Hostetter
Interpret This
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Resources: Ham, Sam. Environmental Interpretation: A Practical Guide, Fulcrum Publishing: Golden, CO. 1992.
Miller, George. The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information. Psychological Review 63(2):81-97. 1956.
Photo: https://www.pexels.com
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Karin Hostetter has over thirty years experience with museum education. With a career that includes natural history museums, cultural history museums (including first person interpretation), nature centers, and zoos, Ms. Hostetter is experienced in interpretive writing, program and curriculum development, and staff and volunteer training. Ms. Hostetter is owner of Interpret This, a consulting company specializing in interpretive writing, program and curriculum development, and volunteer program management. When she is not consulting with other museums, she likes to volunteer and contract teach at them with a special love for preschool and family programs.
To learn more about engaging and finding your audience join Karen for MS237: Formative Evaluations for Exhibits and Public Programs now starting November 4, 2024
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