Interpretation: Education, Programs, and Exhibits

Small Museum Toolkit, Book Five

Edited by Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko and Stacy Klingler - Preface by Bob Beatty - Contributions by Stephen Hague; Laura Keim; Madeline C. Flagler; Teresa Goforth; Eugene Dillenburg; Janice Klein and Rebecca Martin

Programs, tours and exhibits are the meat-and-potatoes of what most museums do to meet their missions to educate the public. Interpretation helps make small museums compelling so that the public understands that they are more than a repository of dusty objects. This book considers researching and designing exhibits and best practices for sharing the stories with your audiences. It explores how to orient your organization to be effective interpreters of what you collect, including how to tell engaging stories and how to address difficult issues you may have ignored in the past, like slavery, prejudice and privilege. For the non-historian, it also offers a step-by-step primer on good historical research.

AltaMira Press / AASLH

Pages: 156 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7591-1952-9 • Hardback • April 2013 • $106.00 • (£82.00)

978-0-7591-1339-8 • Paperback • April 2013 • $47.00 • (£36.00)

978-0-7591-1346-6 • eBook • November 2011 • $44.50 • (£34.00)

Series: Small Museum Toolkit

Subjects: Business & Economics / Museum Administration & Museology, Art / Museum and Historic Sites / Interpretation

Interpretation: Education, Programs, and Exhibits

Small Museum Toolkit, Book Five

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Programs, tours and exhibits are the meat-and-potatoes of what most museums do to meet their missions to educate the public. Interpretation helps make small museums compelling so that the public understands that they are more than a repository of dusty objects. This book considers researching and designing exhibits and best practices for sharing the stories with your audiences. It explores how to orient your organization to be effective interpreters of what you collect, including how to tell engaging stories and how to address difficult issues you may have ignored in the past, like slavery, prejudice and privilege. For the non-historian, it also offers a step-by-step primer on good historical research.

Details

AltaMira Press / AASLH

Pages: 156 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-0-7591-1952-9 • Hardback • April 2013 • $106.00 • (£82.00)

978-0-7591-1339-8 • Paperback • April 2013 • $47.00 • (£36.00)

978-0-7591-1346-6 • eBook • November 2011 • $44.50 • (£34.00)

Series: Small Museum Toolkit

Subjects: Business & Economics / Museum Administration & Museology, Art / Museum and Historic Sites / Interpretation

Author

Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko is chief executive officer at the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, Maine.
Stacy Klingler is the assistant director of Local History Services at the Indiana Historical Society.

Table of Contents

Editors' Note
Preface
Bob Beatty
Chapter 1 Preparing an Outstanding Concert: How to Plan and Implement Interpretation
Stephen G. Hague and Laura C. Keim
Chapter 2 Interpreting Difficult Issues
Madeline C. Flagler
Chapter 3 The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth: Researching Historical Exhibit
Teresa Goforth
Chapter 4 Creating Exhibits: From Planning to Building
Eugene Dillenburg and Janice Klein
Chapter 5 The Nuts and Bolts of Program Management
Rebecca Martin
Bibliography
Index
About the Contributors

Reviews

Book Five of the Small Museum Toolkit is an invaluable resource for those who want to learn the ins and outs of solid interpretation. Contributors, whose insights come from years of experience on the front line, identify the most important things to keep in mind when planning and coordinating programs and exhibits. This is a book that I will share with paid and volunteer staff alike.

— Alexandra Rasic, Public Programs Manager, Homestead Museum