Instruction panels for interactives
This workshop focusses on a very concrete topic: the text label or panel accompanying usually interactive exhibits. This panel commonly displays an exhibit title; some background (scientific) information; an instructions or challenge; and in many cases an accompanying graphic or illustration.
Each speaker will first shortly present examples from their own projects, before participants form small groups rotating between different thematic tables. Each table will be hosted by a speaker and dedicated to a specific aspect of panel development, e.g.: name, main text, background knowledge/relation to everyday life, question/challenge and graphic design. Each group will jointly review the panels on show and suggest alternative solutions.
The session will end with a short wrap-up from each group. We expect this to be a dynamic, creative, and precise workshop.
Facilitator
Curator Text and Language
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Session speakers
Content Strategy and Development
Will multiple answer options to a question confuse visitors? NorthernLight has developed a text strategy to encourage the visitor to wonder and promote dialogue between visitors. We have used it to develop the text panels for the Kayseri Science Center. Our approach was debated by Global Studios (Exploratorium) who produced the exhibition. We didn’t have the chance to test our labels, but I am open to discussion.
Senior Audience Researcher
Does a picture paint a thousand words? The Science Museum have been prototyping new text labels for their upcoming Interactive Gallery. The labels include illustrations in place of text that carries content, instruction, and context. This method brings both benefits and challenges for our visitors as discovered through our audience research which will be discussed in this workshop. On top of this, examples of these prototypes will be shown.
Science Centres International
Head of Content, New Interactive Gallery
