Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate
Dictionary defines a museum as an institution devoted to the procurement, care,
study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value.
Museums can include, but are not limited to aquariums, arboretums,
botanical gardens, art museums, children’s museums, general museums, historic
sites and houses, history museums, natural history museums, nature centers,
planetariums, science museums / technology centers, specialized museums, and
zoos. An art museum is a building
or institution where works of art are kept for display or safekeeping.
An exhibition provides the objects and information necessary for learning
to occur; it is a comprehensive grouping of all elements that form a complete
presentation of collections and information for public use.
Various design factors are
involved in creating an exhibit including balance, line, shape, behavioral
tendencies, traffic flow, object arrangement, and considerations for people with
special needs, among many other factors. To
successfully design an exhibition, it is important to have a desire to
communicate with others, a well-developed aesthetic sense and solid skills in
writing, management, and interpretation. Increasingly,
knowledge about audiences, visitor experiences and educational goals is needed
as well. In addition to specific
design concepts, it is extremely helpful to be able to view examples of
exhibitions in all types of museums, to have resources for art and design
terminology and to have access to general museum studies (museology) resources
in order to be able to grasp underlying design concepts and to understand
wide-ranging goals of an art museum. |