Reed Covered Wagon
Work with authentic artifacts. The Reed family brought this covered wagon across the plains in 1850.

Course Meeting Dates

Now Available!

Class dates for Fall '08 are October 4 and 25. The Fall 2008 syllabus is now available!

Interpretive Exhibits Studio

Course Description

Under the direction of an interpretive planner (Parman) and exhibit designer (Dole), class members will function as a design team, working with an actual client. Director Bob Hart has agreed that the Lane County Historical Museum will once again be our client. Students will have a guided hands-on experience of exhibit development. We will focus on concept and content development, interactives, and the look and feel of the exhibit, with an emphasis on engaging a multigenerational audience.

After a startup meeting with the client team, we will develop consensus about take-home messages, important concepts, must-display objects, and scope of work. We will also develop preliminary ideas about exhibit look and feel, including colors, materials, and graphic look. Then students will divide into smaller teams. Each team will develop a portion of the project: exhibit concept and content, and the interpretive approach, including interactives, touchables, and drill-down opportunities. We will emphasize creativity and innovation, within the constraints of a very modest budget for exhibit renovation. The end product of our work together will be a unified plan for redoing the museum’s cultural timeline. These plans will be presented both graphically and orally to museum staff.

There are no prerequisites for this course. It is recommended that students also take AAD 410/510, Planning Interpretive Exhibits, offered in fall term. If you have not yet taken that course, please obtain a copy of Kathleen McLean, Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions, and read it before our first meeting. McLean's book is available from the American Association of Museums on-line bookstore.

Course Syllabus

• Interpretive Exhibits Studio