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Introduction

 

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.