Community Museums Association of Prince Edward Island

Exhibit Development
Toolkit
Practical Exhibit Toolkit for Prince Edward
Island Museums
CMA-PEI

2017-2018
The Community Museums Association of PEI would like to say thank you to
the PEI Department of Education, Early Leaning and Culture and the
Federal Department of Canadian Heritage for their ongoing support for
CMA-PEI and our work to share and preserve our unique Island history and
culture.

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada

Ce projet est financé en partie par le gouvernement du Canada

1
Purpose
This Exhibit Development Toolkit was paid for in part by the Department of Canadian Heritage
through the Museum Assistance Program grant.

The purpose of this toolkit is to provide information regarding exhibit development, including
but not limited to: fabrication information, materials, funding, promotion, and traveling exhibits.
If you have any questions, please contact us.

Introduction
What is a museum?

When people think of museums, they usually think of artefacts and exhibits in a physical
building. This is why collections management and exhibit development are vital museum
functions.

Museums serve the public by acquiring, conserving, researching, and presenting artefacts of
tangible and intangible history. Exhibits are one of the most common ways to present these
artefacts and stories. But, exhibits can be expensive to develop and take time to create. Our hope
is that this toolkit will give you the information you need to help you in planning and executing
your next exhibit or update existing ones.

Exhibit Development and Promotion

Creating exhibits is not easy, you have to consider:
1. Why are you developing the exhibit?
a. Is it a routine/scheduled change?
b. Is it meeting a community need or demand?
c. Is it for a specific event or to travel?
2. What will be the story or theme?
3. Which artefact(s) will you use?
4. Do any of the artefacts need special care or conditions?
5. What will the panels and labels say?
a. Do you want them to have a connecting narrative or be independent of each
other?
6. Who will design and print your panels?
a. Will you do them in-house or send them to a designer/printer?
7. Who will create your promotional material?
8. How much will you have to add or change on your website to incorporate the new
exhibit?
9. What procedures will you put in place to ensure your panels and ideas receive a second
opinion?
10. Who will fabricate your exhibit? What materials are you going to use?

2
 11. Are you going to do a soft opening to find any issues?
12. Are you going to conduct exhibit evaluations at certain points or throughout the exhibit?
13. What is your budget?

While these are all things that should be considered, they may not all apply to your exhibit. For
example, small and large exhibits will have different requirements and considerations. So if
some of these questions do not apply to you or you can think of others that do apply, do not
worry.

This toolkit is designed to answer some of these questions and complement the 2017/2018
Professional Development Workshop Series on exhibit development.

3
Regional Design and Fabrication Companies
Creating dynamic, user-friendly, and affordable exhibits is important for all museums and culture centres because they allow you the
opportunity to display your collection and inform visitors about the history of your area and your museum.

This section of the toolkit provides information on some local design and fabrication companies that you may chose to use or get
quotes from for your exhibits. But remember, before undertaking a major project, "shop around" and get quotes.

These companies are listed in the following order: Companies that do both design and fabrication; design only; fabrication only.

Prince Edward Island

Name of Contact Information Design Fabrication Examples of Products
Company
Action Press 15 St. Peter's Road   - Graphic design
Charlottetown, PE - Typesetting
C1A 5N1 - Scanning/emailing/photocopying
- Public service fax
(902) 368-3900 - Digital printing
Info@actionpress.ca - Cutting, binding, laminating
www.actionpress.ca - Perforating
Fast Signs 420 Queen Street   - Ceiling tiles
Charlottetown, PE - Imaged glass
C1A 4E6 - Large prints
- Vinyl lettering
(902) 628-6161 - Wall graphics
2031@fastsigns.com -Graphic design
https://www.fastsigns.com/2031- - Installation
charlottetown-pe - Content development

4
KKP 91 Euston Street   - Concept creation
Charlottetown Charlottetown, PE - Design development
(Kwik Kopy C1A 1W3 - Proofing
Printing) - Design delivery
Design and (902) 892-0156 - QR Codes
Printing info@kkpei.ca - Mobile website design
Solutions http://charlottetown.kkpcanada.ca/ - Printing (small scale ie. brochures,
manuals, stickers)
Vista Print Online Service   - Business cards
http://www.vistaprint.ca/ - Logo design
- Clothing
- Promotional products
- Calendars
- Canvas printing
PEI Web Address not provided  x - Web design
Designs Summerside: (902) 724-3726 - Domain registration
Ch'town: (902) 370-3440 - Website maintenance
http://peiwebdesign.com/contact.html - SEO/SEM
http://peiwebdesign.com/
Pressed 4 112 Longworth Ave  x - Photocopy
Time Charlottetown, PE - Cresting
C1A 5A8 - Offset and digital printing
- Promotional products
Ch'town: (902) 370-3000 - Large format printing
Summerside: (902) 724-5232 - Window and vehicle lettering
orders@pressed4time.ca - Graphic design
www.pressed4time.ca

5
Revolution 119 Water Street Can - Graphic design
Media Charlottetown, PE  recommend - Promotional material
C1A 1A8 printers - Branding and logos

Ch'town (902) 367-5060

Summerside (902) 436-5060
Email: info@revolution.ca
https://revolution.ca/
Techno 17 Pownal Street  x - Website development
Media Charlottetown, PE - Photography
C1A 3V7 - Social media
- Packaging
(902) 368-3043 -Will recommend and work with printers
https://technomediapei.com/connect/
https://technomediapei.com/
Virtual Address not provided  x - Custom websites
Creations (902) 940-5927 - Templates
Web Design 1-844-940-5927 -Webmaster services
Studio office@peibf.com - Social media
http://www.peibusinessfederation.org/website-
design.html
Gemini 20 Grant Street PO BOX 14 x  - Screen printing and embroidery
Screen Charlottetown, PE
Printing and C1A7K2
Embroidery
(902) 566-5557
1-800-525-5557
dduffy@geminipei.com
geminipei.com

6
Nova Scotia
East Coast 1264 St. Margarets Bay Rd   - Business cards
Dynamics Beechville, NS - Door hangers
B3T 1A7 - Postcards
- Brochures
(902) 406-4086 - Graphic design
info@eastcoastdynamics.com
http://eastcoastdynamics.com/
Eye Candy 2705 Agricola Street   - Small and large signage
Signs Halifax, NS - Carved signs
B3K 4C7 - Dimensional and sculpted signs
- Vinyl and digital prints
(902) 429-8281 - Sidewalk signs
contact@eyecandysigns.ca
www.eyecandysigns.ca
The Printing 11 Akerley Blvd x  - Small and large scale printing on
House (two Suite 600 various materials
locations) Dartmouth, NS
B3B 1V7

branch054@tph.ca
(902) 468-2085
http://www.tph.ca/print-locations/nova-
scotia/halifax
CIBC Building
1809 Barrington St.,
Halifax, NS
B3J 3KJ

branch059@tph.ca
(902) 422-7730
http://www.tph.ca/print-locations/nova-
scotia/halifax

7
Materials
Finding materials for exhibits can be difficult because:
 Material near artefacts should be acid free,
 Release few off-gasses,
 Prevent artefact damage, and
 Exhibit panels need to be concise, but interesting

The materials you use will be based on your resources. Depending on what items you need to
complete your exhibit, local hardware stores could suite your needs.

For larger items or amounts, you may need to order materials online. These can be more
expensive as they sometimes come from specialty stores. CMA-PEI also has some materials on-
hand and sell them at a fair price.

If you are unsure what materials you need, consult CCI Notes. Artefacts will have different
display and storage requirements based on their material. Once you know the materials you need,
you can always check online to see if you can find them for a better price. But remember; be
careful when ordering online and be sure that you are buying from a reputable supplier. Ordering
anything online will also come with additional shipping charges.

Some materials that could be useful for your exhibit are:

- Coroplasts
- Dibond
- Electric Drill
- Felt and Velcro
- Foam boards
- Gator board
- Heavy duty stapler
- Matboards
- Mylar
- Polymount
- Pliers
- Plywoods
- Safety goggles
- Sintra
- Screw drivers
- T-square
- Vinyl
- Yard stick/ ruler/ measuring tape

There are different resources online that can help you decide on which products and materials to
use in your exhibit, these include:

8
 - A Sustainable Development Guide for Canada’s Museums created by the Canadian
Museums Association and is available on their website
- Guidelines for Selecting Materials for Exhibit, Storage and Transportation by Jean
Tetreault, Canadian Conservation Institute
- Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) website

If you are using a printing service ask about your options. Depending on the duration and
location of the exhibit, you may want to consider more expensive options, especially if the panel
will be located outside all year.

The following are possible locations to find exhibit and storage material/items.

Brodart Supplies and Furnishings

www.brodart.ca
800-265-8470

Brodart offers a wide range of products, but does not specialize in museums. Their stock
includes office supplies, display cases, signage, and audiovisual equipment.

Carr McLean
www.carrmclean.ca
1-800-268-2123

Carr McLean specializes in equipment for archives, museums, and galleries. They offer
document and photographic storage solutions, conservation tools and supplies, archival paper
and boards, book maintenance, framing, environmental monitoring and control equipment,
display and exhibit material, and office supplies. While their material is specific for museums, it
can be expensive.

Talas
www.talasonline.com
212-219-0770

Talas is based out of the United States and specializes in bookbinding, and archival and
conservation supplies. As it is located in the United States, shipping fees will be higher.

Uline
https://www.uline.ca/
1-800-295-5510

Uline offers a wide range of products from office supplies, craft material, shipping foam, and
gloves. Their stock is not always designed for museums, therefore, make sure you are ordering
items that will be safe around your artefacts and not damage them. Orders can be made online.

9
Archives Canada

Archives Canada has a larger list of possible suppliers in their Directory of Archival Supplier.
For this list, click here.

Grants and Funding

Funding an exhibit, whether it is new or being updated, can get expensive. But, there are funding
options available both provincially and federally. When it comes to writing and obtaining grants,
there are three important things to remember:

1. Be creative! Think about all aspects of your exhibit or program and how they may qualify for
grants beyond heritage and culture. Programs involving dance, for example may qualify for
grants through Health Canada.

2. Read the instructions! This may seem obvious, but when you do not read the instructions
carefully you risk missing something and your application being rejected based on a technicality.

3. Have someone, maybe from outside your institution or not familiar with the project, read it
over. When you have been working on a project and know all or most aspects of it, your
explanations may not be clear, or you will read what is in your head and not on the page.
The risk here is that you may unknowingly assume the evaluators knowledge regarding
your project or institution. This will lead to an unclear plan and possibly the rejection of your
application.

The following is a list of some of the places to search for grants. Searching for grants may seem
tedious, but it is necessary for project funding and operation.

Grants and Funding

Title Description Link
Federal Culture, Contains numerous https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-
History and Sport grants including culture, heritage/services/funding.html
Funding music, history,
publishing, and youth
programs
National Trust for Funding for http://www.nationaltrustcanada.ca/resources/fin
Canada infrastructure, research, d-funding
leadership and
organizational
development, and youth
programs
Canada Council Funding for artists, http://canadacouncil.ca/funding/grants
for the Arts artistic programming,
and public outreach.
Many of these grants are

10
 aimed at artists
Health Canada This funding includes the https://www.canada.ca/en/health-
Funding Official Languages canada/corporate/about-health-
Health Contribution canada/funding.html
Program and Physical
Activity Contribution https://www.canada.ca/en/health-
Program: Supporting canada/topics/funding.html
Healthy Living for
Canadians
Canadian Includes the Innovation https://www.innovation.ca/awards
Foundation for Fund, Cyber
Innovation Infrastructure Fund, and
Exceptional
Opportunities Fund
Innovation Some of this funding is https://www.canada.ca/en/services/science/innov
Funding and specific to Atlantic ation/funding.html
Support Canada
Technology and Focuses on technology http://www.cbo-
Innovation: but also agriculture/agri- eco.ca/en/index.cfm/financing/government-
Financial Support food, and natural loans-and-grants/technology-and-innovation-
resources financial-support/
Wellness Grant If you have a program https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/sites/default/
Program encouraging wellness (ie. files/forms/2017-
dance, food program), 18_grant_application_final_2017-05-12_en.pdf
you may qualify
Arts Grants This program focuses on https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/informati
program artists on/innovation-pei/arts-grants-program
Culture Tourism Focuses on specific https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/informati
Festivals and events on/education-early-learning-and-
Events Funding culture/cultural-tourism-festivals-and-events-
Program funding
Infrastructure If you are planning work http://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/prog/programs-
Canada's Funding to your infrastructure, see infc-summary-eng.html
Programs if your project, or
community, qualifies

When it comes to grants, community support and buy-in is important. Some grants will want
letters of support to guarantee that the project or institution has community support.

Another way your community can support you is through applying for grants to help the
community (such as for festivals or development). You are a member of the community and
therefore, could be included when they apply. Talk to your community leaders about some of
these possibilities and partnerships.

11
Design
If you are designing your own labels and panels, here are some things to keep in mind:

 Font size should reflect the hierarchy and order of information presented. The smallest font
size you should use is 18point font (20point font is better). This size should allow those with
visual limitations to read your panels.1

 Font Style2
 Italics can be harder to read
 Under shadows can make it hard to distinguish letters
 Use bold sparingly
 Using all capitals makes it difficult to read panels, especially when combined with bold
font

 Height of labels and panels3

 Labels and panels should be accessible to those sitting (wheelchair) and those standing.
Labels should be between 48in and 65in. In the middle (mid 50’s) is best.
 There are many ways to mount panels and your methods could affect the height. Try to fit
the text sections of the panels between 48 to 65 inches.

Publicity Information
Publicity can get expensive, especially if you want to take out newspaper advertisements or
commercials. But you also need to let people know about your institution and your exhibits.
Therefore, being smart about your publicity is important. Be creative and look for free and low-
cost opportunities.

The Buzz: Prince Edward Island's Guide to What's Going On - Popular magazine on PEI.
Advertising is free.

Community Bulletins - Depending on the community, this may be free or have a small charge.
Community Bulletins can be a great place to engage the local community and generate interest in
your museum.

Newspapers: Contact newspapers and see if a reporter is interested in covering your exhibit,
program, or museum. Newspaper advertisements can be expensive.
Possible newspapers include: The Guardian, The Eastern Graphic, West Prince Graphic,
Island Farmer, The Journal Pioneer, The County Line Courier, Atlantic Post Calls.

1
Yvonne Tang and Yves Mayrand, “Design” in Manual of Museum Exhibitions, Second Edition, ed. Barry Lord and
Maria Piacente (New York: Rowman & Little, 2014), 315-316.
2
Tang and Mayrond, 332.
3
Smithsonian Accessibility Program, Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design,(Washington, DC,
NA), 26.

12
Radio: Like newspapers and community bulletins, radio stations like covering community
events.
Possible radio stations include: CFCY 95.1, Hot 105.5, Ocean 100.3, CHLQ 93.1, SPUD
FM 102.1.

Flyers: Flyers can be printed at Staples, print shops all over the Island, or done in-house. Once
your promotion budget is decided, you can select where you want to print your flyers.

Social Media: Social media is a great place to promote your exhibit. Three of the most popular
are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Effective social media requires a plan. A section focusing
on social media is found later in this document. If you have younger volunteers or want to get
youth involved, getting them involved in your social media is a great way to introduce them to
your museum.

Sponsorship/Partnerships - Many businesses want to be involved in the community and

cultural events. See if any of your local businesses or newspapers are interested in providing free
advertising in return for being a partner. This could include a free print advertisement,
commercial, or donation. In return, it is standard to include their logo on any advertisements and
promotional material and to thank them in any speeches or introductory panels.

Social Media
Social media is one of the best ways to reach your established and potential audience. Therefore,
using these platforms to their full potential is important.

When it comes to social media, some considerations you will have to take into account are:

What are you sharing?

You should share things that you think your audience is interested in rather than posting for the
sake of posting. If you post too many things your audience does not find interesting, they will
start to ignore your posts.

How are you measuring success?

Social media platforms usually have ways to measure your audience and you could use these to
measure the interactions with your posts.

Who are your main followers and who do you want to attract?
This may change overtime or with certain posts, depending on the purpose of the post.

When is the best time to post to increase the chances it will appear in the users general feed?
To figure this out, look at your members (or potential members) on social media and when they
are most likely to be online. This will vary depending on age and lifestyle which could dictate
when your audience uses their social media accounts. If you do not know, ask! Conduct a small
visitor study where you ask people in the museum or in the community when they are usually on
social media.

13
Facebook

Facebook is popular with people of all ages now. If used wisely, you could reach an audience of
all ages. Facebook also has a useful scheduling feature allowing you to write your post(s),
schedule it (or them) to post at a certain time, and go home. This type of feature will allow you to
reach more of your members without staying late or planning to do it from home later in the
evening.

Depending on your page type, there are two ways to schedule posts. If your page is set up as a
business page, follow these steps:

1. Go to your specific page, not the main Facebook page. Type up your post but do not click
"Publish". Instead, click on the down arrow beside the publish button. Seen here, circled
in red.

2. Next, click "Schedule", highlighted here in yellow.

14
 3. That will bring up this window. Select the date and time you want the post to be
published and click "Schedule".

If you have a non-business page, the scheduling process is a little different. Again, go to your
page, not your general feed. Write your post, but do not hit "Post". As you will see in the graphic
below, there is no down arrow beside the "Post" button. Instead, select the small calendar, seen
below circled in red.

15
Once this is selected, you will be given the option of when you want your post published, seen
below.

Scheduling posts will allow you to reach your base better and expand your social media strategy.

Facebook does not ensure all people who have liked, shared, or joined/followed your page will
see your post. People in other provinces and other countries may also see your posts, despite the
fact they are not near your museum or even a member/follower.

If you do want to see the analytics for your Facebook page, follow these instructions:

First, you must have a business page and be one of the administrators. Once you login to
Facebook and go to your institution’s page, you will notice a menu bar going across the page
under the search bar. "Insights", the fourth option, provides the reactions to your posts (including
likes, reactions, comments, shares, and reach).

You can also boost your posts. Click here to see Facebook's guide to
boosting a post and here for instructions.

On the Insights page, there is a menu running down the side. One of the
options is “Posts”. This page will show when people saw and engaged
with your page and posts.

16
You can also create “Events” on Facebook. Creating an event page is a great way to have all the
information for an event all in one place, promote it, and invite people. There are two types of
event pages, private and public. Private, or closed, events will not be displayed on your page and
people must be invited to join. Any updates or posts added to the event page will only be seen by
those who were invited to join and accepted the invitation. Public events can be seen by anyone
and any posts added to the event will be seen by all who have joined the event. People can still
be invited to public events.

While people can indicate they plan to attend your event, do not assume all these people will
come. The nature of social media reservations make it incredibly easy to say you are going to
attend an event, but it also makes it easier to forget about the event or change your mind.

Facebook Considerations

Do not post personal information, such as your date of birth, personal phone number(s), or
address.

Remember your posts represent your institution. Avoid posts that may affect your institution's
reputation. This does not mean you should avoid controversial topics, but be sure the institution
(key players/Board of Directors) is on your side and have your back.

Monitor what people are posting on your wall and delete inaccurate or inappropriate posts. While
this is unlikely to happen, there is a chance as everyone (from trolls to advertisers) have access to
your Facebook wall.

Members have access to detailed presentations on Facebook and Twitter, and the "Best Practice
Guide: Marketing on Facebook" slideshows in the members-only section of our website.

Social media is a valuable tool for your museum. But remember, it takes time and effort to
maintain a strong social media presence and platforms are always changing. Some, like
Facebook, have been able to maintain their audiences, others, like Flickr, have faded in
popularity. It is important to decide which platforms you want to focus on and re-evaluate your
strategy whenever necessary.

Twitter

Twitter is also a very popular platform. Its main disadvantage is that you can only use 280
characters. Characters include letters, numbers, symbols, punctuation, spaces, etc.

Scheduling Twitter is a little different than Facebook. Unlike Facebook, scheduling Tweets is not
free. To schedule Tweets, you need to have a Twitter Ads account. There is no set price for
Twitter as it is based on your budget and bid. Before signing up for a Twitter Ads account,
examine the following webpage to decide if it is the right option for you, your museum, and your
audience.

17
To see a detail explanation of how to schedule Tweets, click here. On Twitter, the Tweet can be
scheduled up to a year in advance, with options to post at half hour intervals.

Instagram

Instagram requires a Smartphone. This application (or app), is a photo and video sharing
platform. You can find Instagram online; however, you cannot upload any images. To upload
images, you must have the app on a Smartphone.

To add images or videos:

1. Open the app and click on the “+”, seen in the image below

18
 2. You will then be taken to the following screen. On this screen you can select to take a
photo or video and post it, or to look through your Smartphone’s photo library and select
a picture to post.

3. After you have selected your photo you will be given the opportunity to add any filters
you would like. These filters can be used to play with
the contracts of the photo.

4. Once you select your photo or video, you will be given

the option to click “Next”, which will take you to this
page (right). Here you can add a caption, tag people so
they know you have posted or who are connected to
the post, and your location. You will also have the
option of also sharing the photo/video on your
Facebook, Twitter, and/or Tumblr pages. Once you
click “Share”, seen in the upper right corner, your
content will be shared on Instagram.

In Instagram, you cannot schedule posts.

No matter which platform you are using, be sure to explore its

features and use them to your advantage.

19
Traveling Exhibits
What is a travelling exhibit?

A travelling exhibit is an exhibit that travels to other locations. These can be as small as a panel
and a few artefacts and banners, or much larger. Often, small museums do not have the space,
time, or resources to change their exhibitions on a regular basis. Therefore, traveling exhibits can
be a simple way to bring new content to your museum – if you have the space.

Obtaining a travelling exhibition

Why do you want one?

Many museums, archives, and organizations have traveling exhibits. Some considerations:
1. Why do you want the exhibit?
a. Special occasion
b. Something new for the summer
c. Do not have the resources (money, space, artefacts, etc) to create one
Traveling exhibits can be a great way to add new content to your museum – especially if you
find one focusing on an event you want to cover.

What you need to consider before getting one?

A. Budget

The budget you will need for a traveling exhibit will vary greatly depending on where you get
the exhibit from. Some budget considerations to remember are:
 Rental Fee
 Some museums or rental companies will require a rental fee. Others do not. These fees
will vary, by company and exhibits.
 For example: https://www.historymuseum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/travelling-
e.pdf

 Shipping
 Larger exhibits may need to be shipped by transport truck. You may also be required to
pay for the more expensive air ride trailers to help protect the exhibit.
 Some local museums may let you pick up the exhibit or drop it off for free or a limited
cost

 Installation
 Do you need to hire specific people for set-up
 You may need to hire people if:
 You need something built, like a case or new lighting track
 Might be in rental contract that you hire professionals to set up the exhibit if you
do not have people with specific experiences in your volunteer pool or board. For
example, setting up certain large artefacts, ie. Fossils

20
  Do you need specific equipment
 Scissor lift
 Dollies
 Materials
 RH readers
 Etc.

 Insurance
 Some travelling exhibits have insurance included. Many do not, you have to pay an
insurance fee. This will vary depending on the exhibit and the institution it is coming
from.

 Staffing
 You can usually use volunteers or summer students, but if you have a more expensive
exhibit, you should consider paying for security. This may also be a requirement in the
rental agreement.

B. Exhibit Requirements

Traveling exhibits will have specific requirements. Some to consider are:

 Space
 The space requirements will vary by exhibit. You will need space for:
 The exhibit itself
 The exhibits shipping material

 Lighting
 In a rental agreement, you may have to agree to keep lux at a certain level. Lux = the
measure light intensity over one square metre. Some agreements will measure the
required lighting in lux, others in foot-candles. Foot-candle is the old imperial
measurement for light intensity and equals about 11 lux

 Relative Humidity4
 Archival material is sensitive to humidity; it will absorb and release moisture
 Rapidly fluctuating humidity can damage objects
 High RH (above 65%) can cause mold growth and metal corrosion
 Low RH (below 25%) can cause organic materials to become brittle because they loose
valuable water needed to maintain structure.
 Most aim for a stable point between 45-55% (+/- 5%)

If you cannot meet these guidelines, consider the feasibility of hosting the exhibition. It can be
very damaging for artefacts to go from a stable humidity to a different one.

4
“Relative Humidity and Temperature,” Northern States Conservation Center , accessed March 23, 2018,
https://www.collectioncare.org/relative-humidity-and-temperature#main-content

21
Mecklenburg’s “Determining the Acceptable Ranges of Relative Humidity and Temperature in
Museums and Galleries” from the Smithsonian Museum Conservation Institute is a good
resource for exploring RH guidelines.

 Temperature
 Most museums strive for temperatures between 12C and 25C, depending on the artefacts
and whether it is in storage or on display.

 Acclimatizing artefacts
 Some artefacts need to slowly get use to an environment. This is to avoid shocking the
artefacts into new climate/conditions.

 Condition Reporting
 You should always complete condition reports. These prove the conditions the artefacts
arrived and disembarked in. Always include pictures to back up your claims.

 Image restrictions
 There are many reasons and types of image restrictions.
 Private collectors may not want pictures taken
 Respect for the artefacts (may have significant cultural or religious meanings)
 Restrict the use of camera flash to protect the artefacts

C. Where can you find travelling exhibition?

Looking for a traveling exhibit will be difficult if you do not know what you want to exhibit. If a
local museum covers a topic you want to do an exhibit on, contact them and see if they have a
travelling exhibit.

Some other places to look include:

- Canadian War Museum
- PEI Regiment Museum
- Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
- Ontario Science Centre
- Culture Trove
- Archives (both provincial and federal)
- Rare Opportunities
o Samuel Holland’s Map at the Confederation Centre of the Arts
 Rarer items usually go to a museum with the resources to properly care for
them. This could include lighting, RH, security, etc.

D. Timeline

Your timeline will depend on who you are receiving the travelling exhibit from. Local museums
may have shorter timelines than larger institutions.

22
If you are ordering a travelling exhibit, consider:
1. Time to process the request and any red-tape/administrative elements
2. Find/gather materials for traveling exhibit (maybe it is in storage)
3. Shipping time
4. Acclimatizing artefacts, if required
5. Set-up time (will vary depending on what is needed to complete installation)
6. Tear-down and re-packing time
7. Shipping back to owner

Therefore, be sure to start this process as early as possible as the exhibit you want may be
booked by another museum, there may be a mistake on the website, you may not meet certain
requirements, etc.

For larger museums and larger exhibits this process could take weeks or months.

Creating a travelling exhibit

There are many things to consider when creating a travelling exhibit.

 Artefacts
 Which artefacts are you going to include
 Should be ones that you feel comfortable putting into someone else’s hands
 Able to travel
 How will the exhibit be insured

 Topic
 Is it relevant and interesting?
 Traveling exhibits need to appeal to a wider audience as it could be going to a range
of museums
 Lighthouses, government offices, nature museums, technology museums, historic
house/village, etc.
 If you have a dynamic topic that draws attention it will be more desirable to more
museums which would make it more profitable to you
 You could include topics you have wanted to include in your museum but do not have
enough space for a permanent exhibit. Then you could use it at your own museum on
occasion as well as loan it out, which could make more people interested in your
museum.
 Consider partnering with another museum or group. Then you can combine
resources, skills, etc. And more people are invested in the project.
 Relevant topics are always best
 War/battle anniversary
 Community anniversary
 New discovery made
 Etc.

23
 Graphics and interactive
 If you use any interactive features, remember they can break during transport or use. You
will have to consider back-up pieces or alternatives.

 Size
 If you want to focus on Island museums, keep in mind the size of many of our museums.
Do not make your traveling exhibit too large.

 Visitors
 Visitor reactions
 Do you want to know how visitors reacted? This could be done by including or
recommending a visitor comment book, volunteers counting visitors, etc..
 Do parts of the exhibit take longer to get through
 Interactive, video, emotional story, etc.

 Prototyping
 It can be helpful to build a mock-up, this can range from a survey on topics; drawings and
copies of text or artefact lists; or a model or computer model of the exhibit. This allows
you to make any changes that may be needed

 Floor and Packing Plans

 These insure the exhibit is set-up and packed-up the correct way
 Need to be included with any travelling exhibit

Financing

If you are looking for financing possibilities for your traveling exhibit:
1. Canada Travelling Exhibition Indemnification Program
a. Exhibitions must be shown in two provinces OR where the value of non-Canadian
objects exceeds the value of Canadian artefacts – gives Canadians the opportunity
to see exhibitions they otherwise would not be able to see.
2. Museum Assistance Program Grant
a. Exhibition Circulation Fund
3. Check out the Government of Canada “Funding – Culture, history and sport” website.
There is a list of grants there that you may qualify for.

Exhibit Evaluation

Why do Exhibit Evaluations?5

Evaluations can be used at any point in the exhibit development process. Exhibit evaluations
will:
 Help you decide on future exhibitions and programs

5
Mark Walhimer, “Museum Exhibition Design, Part VI,” Museum Planner, July 10, 2012,
https://museumplanner.org/museum-exhibition-design-part-vi/.

24
 Determine prior knowledge on a topic and interests
 Discover any misconceptions
 For example, visitors may believe the artefact in the worst shape is the oldest.
 Help create an exhibit schedule
 See things you have missed
 Measure the success of an exhibit
 Find out who your audience is

How in-depth or large you make your exhibit evaluation depends on your resources. Some of the
things included in these notes you may not have the resources to do. But, you can alter these
tools to accommodate your needs.

Types of Exhibit Evaluations

There are four types of exhibit evaluations (AKA Visitor Studies)

1. Formative Evaluations
2. Front-end Evaluations
3. Remedial Evaluations
4. Summative Evaluations

These evaluations are used at different points in the exhibition process, from development to
removal.

Front-End Evaluations

A front-end evaluation is conducted during the beginning of a project, when you are developing
an exhibit or program’s themes and content. It concentrates on getting input from your potential
audience to find out what they know, would like to know, and how this information could be
presented in meaningful ways. It will often illustrate misconceptions and surprising interests
audiences bring to your subject matter.

The aims of front-end evaluations are to:

1. Help define exhibition objectives and themes that interest your visitors
2. Gain an understanding of visitors prior knowledge and experience
3. Identify visitor needs and interests
4. Provide your audience input to the exhibit development process
5. Get some core visitors excited about your upcoming project
6. Help you develop a successful PR plan

The methods used include:

1. Focus groups
2. Interviews and surveys
3. Informal conversations with visitors
4. Community days/workshops
5. Review of market research

25
 6. Talking with staff and volunteers

These evaluations can be repeated, incorporating earlier findings, until the developers are
satisfied with the results.

Formative Evaluations

Formative Evaluations are the next stage in exhibit evaluations. These provide information about
how well an exhibition communicates its intended messages and occur while a project is still
under development, using preliminary text, models, plans, or prototypes. The better the models,
the better the responses and the closer their responses will be to the final product.
For example, if you want to know if a panel you are working on is conveying your
intended message, you want to give the visitor the actual text, written as if it could go on the
final panel. Do not give them notes, or only a few sentences. This way they could comment on
the font or colour scheme, wording, ways to make it clearer, etc.

These can be repeated over and over until you are happy with the results.

The aims are to:

1. Seek feedback related to how well the proposed program communicates the messages
2. Provide insight into learning and communication processes

Methods include:
1. Focus Groups
2. Interviews and surveys
3. Informal conversations with visitors
4. Workshopping with staff and/or special interest groups
5. Community days
6. Review of market research
7. Talking with staff and volunteers
8. Using models and prototypes

Remedial Evaluations

Remedial evaluations take place immediately after your exhibit opens to the public. It can be
used to troubleshoot problems and issues that can be easily fixed to maximize the visitor’s
experience. This type of evaluation is useful in addressing problems that may not have been
foreseen during development, such as lighting, signage, or crowd flow.

It focuses on the physical and architectural features such as lighting, placement of thematic
headlines, entrances and exits, and psychological factors including disorientation, crowds,
thematic layout, information overload, fatigue, social activity, etc.

26
The aims are to:
1. Check that the program ‘works’ in a practical sense
2. Determine what maintenance/resources are needed
3. Improve the short or long term effectiveness of the program for visitors
4. Provide some early insights into how visitors use the program

Some of the methods used include:

1. Observations
2. Informal feedback from visitors
3. Feedback sheets
4. Surveys and interviews
5. Staff and volunteer feedback
6. Comment books

Remedial evaluations are rather straightforward and can easily be incorporated into your exhibit
plan. You may already do them without noticing - does the children's programming need more
crayons, does the lighting in this section need to be changed, is the bench bottle-necking visitors,
etc.

Summative Evaluations

Summative evaluations can be used when an exhibit is closing, after it has been open to the
public for a while (so issues found in the remedial evaluation are worked out), or if it is a
permanent exhibit.

They are used to discover:

1. If an exhibition delivered the intended message
2. If/what learning occurred
3. How satisfied people were with the program
4. Did the marketing strategy work
5. If the gallery were to be updated, what would they like to see more/less of

The aims are to:

1. Give feedback about the achievement of objectives
2. Provide information on how a program is working overall
3. Provide reports, plans for future projects, suggest research, identify problems with visitor
usage, interest and learning, identify successful strategies, layouts, etc.
4. Provide information for a budgetary analysis

Methods include:
1. Large scale visitor surveys
2. Structured observations to gauge visitor interest, the effectiveness of the program for
attracting visitors and holding their attention
3. Formal ‘testing’ with visitors or groups
4. In-depth interviews

27
 5. Critical appraisal
6. Media/critical reviews
7. Visitor numbers/counts

These four evaluations can be used individually or be used together in one exhibition. It depends
on your museum, where you are in the exhibit process, budget, etc.

These evaluations can be as small or large as you want.

Evaluation Plan

The first step in developing your evaluation plan is to decide on your topic and scope. The
following questions can help develop your plan:
1. What is the purpose of the study? How will the results be used? Will the study provide
information for planning, for improvements, or on the impacts of a project?
2. Who is it for? Is the study being conducted for an internal or external audience? Is it for
decision makers, program staff, outside funders, other researchers, or all of the above?
3. Who will undertake the study? Will it be someone internally or externally?
4. What is the budget?
5. How will the results of your study be shared? Will it be formally, orally, etc.

Once you know the scope of your evaluation, put together a written plan for your stakeholders -
board, staff, volunteers, those doing the study, etc. Do not overstate your scope. This will create
confusion and headaches later in the study.

The size and detail of your evaluation plan will vary depending on:
1. Type of evaluation
2. Budget
3. Goal of evaluation

Tools and Methods

Tools and methods include:

 Interviews
 Focus groups
 Feedback forms
 Questionnaires
 Demographics survey form
 Observations
 Tracking
 Head counts

28
Selecting Participants (for interviews, tracking, questionnaires, observations, and survey forms)6

Select participants based on the purpose of your evaluation. If you want to know the opinion of
parents on a children’s program, asking people with no children or grandchildren might not be
ideal.

How many participants do you need?

According to Judy Diamond et al. in Practical Evaluation Guide: Tools for Museums and Other
Informal Educational Settings,

Population size 3% margin of error 10% margin of error

100 92 49
500 341 81
1,000 516 88
5,000 880 94

Systematic Sampling
Will select participant so that you have equivalent numbers from each group
ie. 50% male ; 50% female
ie. 50% adult ; 50% children

Representative Sampling
Will select participants based on the make-up of the community

Random Sampling
If conducting your evaluation in your museum, you do not have the same opportunities to be as
selective with participants as you would if holding a focus group or finding participants outside
your institution.

In random sampling, you select people “at random”. For example, this could be selecting every
fourth person to enter the gallery or leaving a survey form at the front desk and asking people to
fill it out

Presenting Your Results

The best way to present your data, especially if you have a lot to present, is through graphs as
they allow for boards and stakeholders to see and understand your results quickly.

Make smart use of:

1. Graphs
2. Headings

6
Judy Diamond et al. Practical Evaluation Guide: Tools for Museums and Other Informal Educational Settings,
Third Edition (Rowman & Little: New York, 2016), 46.

29
 3. Colours (on graphs)
4. Images
5. Tables for summarizing qualitative data
1. But do not overload one table

How you present your results will depend on the goals of your evaluation. You may decide a
formal report is not needed. However, if you do complete a formal report, you should include:

1. Brief review of your purpose and goals

2. Methodology
3. Who conducted the evaluation
4. Break down of results
5. Lessons learned (which could be useful in future studies)
6. Recommendations

This toolkit has provided a brief overview of the many aspects of museum exhibits. This toolkit
was created as part of the Best Practices for Exhibit Development Workshop Series. We hope it
has been useful in helping you create or update your exhibits. If you have any questions, please
contact us.

30
References

Diamond, Judy et al. Practical Evaluation Guide: Tools for Museums and Other Informal
Educational Settings, Third Edition. Rowman & Little: New York, 2016.

“Relative Humidity and Temperature.” Northern States Conservation Center. Accessed March
23, 2018, https://www.collectioncare.org/relative-humidity-and-temperature#main-content

Smithsonian Accessibility Program. Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design.

Washington, DC, NA.

Tang, Yvonne and Yves Mayrand. “Design” in Manual of Museum Exhibitions, Second Edition.
Edited by Barry Lord and Maria Piacente. New York: Rowman & Little, 2014. 293-338.

Walhimer, Mark. “Museum Exhibition Design, Part VI.” Museum Planner. July 10, 2012.
https://museumplanner.org/museum-exhibition-design-part-vi/.

31