"Have good Big Ideas and write short labels."

I sent my colleague Beverly Serrell**  an email asking how best to respond when a museum team wants to "digitally expand" the information on exhibition labels using QR codes or screens or the like.

I liked Beverly's response so much, that I asked her permission to share it here on the ExhibiTricks blog:


This is a very familiar idea, that there are museum visitors who might want more information than they see and use on the labels in an exhibition and would be willing to follow a link or code to get it somewhere else (e.g., in another gallery, on their phone, on the Internet). There are several assumptions embedded here that make this a weak or even bad idea, because.... 

1. The number of people who actually want more information is a small percentage. 

2. The number of people who use QR codes or remember to look for more information in another place is small. 

3. The amount of work to provide high-quality information for that small percentage is not worth it. 

4. More people will actually use shorter labels, so writing short labels to begin with makes a better user-ratio.  

5. Lots of information is instantly available on visitors' phones. You don't need to write more.

Notice that the above is all based on "information" rather than "interpretation." The purpose of exhibit labels is interpretation, not information. Information is about presenting knowledge. Interpretation is about provoking curiosity, revelation, interest, and meaning. Anyone who gets stimulated by the labels (and we hope that lots of people will be) can search for what exists already on the Internet to find out more.

So, the mindset should be: Have good Big Ideas and write short labels. 

**Beverly Serrell is the author of Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach, the definitive book about (wait for it ...) exhibit labels.  If you don't already own a copy you should click on the Amazon link above and get Beverly's book for yourself. (Or at the very least read this interview I did with Beverly when the second edition of Exhibit Labels was published.)

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Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

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Designer's Toolbox: Information is Beautiful

Can information be beautiful? 

The website Information is Beautiful answers that question by helping users make more informed decisions about the world through data visualizations based on constantly updated facts -- some of which I've featured in this post.

Created by David McCandless and his team, Information is Beautiful seeks to transform important (if sometimes somewhat complicated) data into strong and understandable visualizations.

The infographics cover a range of vital topics such as health, energy, and society. I appreciate how these images inspire me to think of dense information in new ways.

The Information is Beautiful team has also made all their datasets freely available, so you can dig into the numbers yourself (and check the veracity of their graphics if you like!)

Check out the related website called Beautiful News that serves up daily infographics highlighting data-rich topics focused on current events.

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, please help support ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Where Can You Find Things Like Giant Sequins And Fake Dirt? Check Out The Great Big Exhibit Resource List!

Developers, designers, and educators often need to track down unusual (or very specific) items to create museum exhibitions or trade show displays.

That's where The Great Big Exhibit Resource List comes in!

What started out years ago as a project for an ASTC Conference session, has now blossomed into an ever-growing and evolving set of resources organized by categories like "Fake Food", "Green Exhibits Materials", and "Glow-In-The-Dark Stuff".  (As a matter of fact, I just added some new entries this week.)

Blacksmith tools?  No problem!  Specialized plastic boxes? Sure!  Giant sequins for an air exhibit? Click the link!

Click on over to The Great Big Exhibit Resource List to explore the possibilities yourself.  (If you have suggestions for additions to the list, feel free to drop me an email.)

And while you finding the exhibit supplies of your dreams in The List, also check out the FREE Exhibit Resources page on the POW! Website.  There you'll find downloadable articles and resources such as donor recognition examples as well as a wide range of museum/exhibit/design topics like those covered here on the ExhibiTricks blog.



Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, please help support ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Don't Stop

Working in the museum world can sometimes feel overwhelming. Days filled with administrative trivia, visitor complaints, and endless "to-do" lists can, at times, wear even the most dedicated museum workers down.

Don't stop.

In solidarity with colleagues and citizens around the world -- where cultural history has been destroyed by accident, by neglect, by violence --

Don't stop.

Find one thing today, even a little thing, that will make your museum work better, and that will make you feel better about doing that work.

It could be a Social Media post about a fun new Education program.  A tweak to an exhibit to make it move from good to great.  Ordering a new entry mat to replace that worn-out old one by the front door. Sincerely complimenting a co-worker on a job well done. A phone call to reconnect with a community partner.

Don't stop.

All those little things add up --- for you, and your visitors.  There will always be things to rebuild, things to improve, but take time to look back at how far you have come, what you have built and accomplished, not just what is left undone.

Don't stop.

The world is better for your efforts.



Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, please help support ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Museum/Exhibit/Design Toolbox: Wilkening Consulting's Data Stories

Susie Wilkening provides outstanding museum audience research services through her company, Wilkening Consulting.

Susie also provides "Data Stories" in a free downloadable format on the Wilkening Consulting website -- a great resource for the field. (An example of a Data Story is at the top of this post.)

Data Stories are punchy infographics that tell stories based on Wilkening's research with museums and people who visit museums.  The Data Stories provide a great way to summarize important information on topics ranging from young adult museum-goers to empathy and curiosity in museums. The format is perfect to share with staff, donors, and community stakeholders.

The information is drawn from research with thousands of museum-goers from across the country, and did I mention they are provided for FREE?

So click on over to the Wilkening Consulting website to learn more, and while you are there find out how your museum can participate in the 2020 Annual Survey of Museum-Goers in collaboration with the American Alliance of Museums.



Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, please help support ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Supporting Museums As They Transform: An Interview with Charity Counts

Charity M. Counts is an experienced museum exhibit director and producer, creative team leader, project manager, exhibit tour agent, and fine artist. Charity discovered her passion during undergraduate school and later received an MA in Museum Studies from IUPUI. She currently serves as the executive director of the Association of Midwest Museums. Prior to leading AMM, Charity was the Associate Vice President of Exhibits at the world-renowned Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Charity was kind enough to provide this interview for the ExhibiTricks blog.


What’s your educational background?
I studied drawing at Ball State University, and I followed my heart precisely because my mom convinced me that I should. My mom was career military and could have suggested a more practical and certain career path for me, yet she didn’t. That encouragement set me on my journey to where I am today.

After I landed my first full-time museum job, I realized that I needed to learn more about museums and went back to school. I was fortunate to work and study at the same time, and I received my MA in museum studies from Indiana University at IUPUI in 2008.


What got you interested in Museums? And what has been your trajectory working in museums?   While an art student at BSU, I was invited to participate in a community project at the Virginia Ball Center for Creative Inquiry. A team of interdisciplinary students worked with a local museum – Minnetrista – to research, develop, design and build an exhibit about Indiana in a single semester. I served as a curator on the project, fell in love with the notion of working in creative teams at museums, and then applied for a part-time job at Minnetrista right before I graduated.

When I started working in museums, I told myself that I would be the director of an art museum someday. At the time, art museums were the only museums I had any experience with and as I focused on my career, it seemed natural to aim for the biggest job those museums had to offer. As my career advanced, I found my goals shifting from “lead an art museum” to “transform museums” to “share what I know to help museum people” to “support museums as they transform.” Today, I am happy doing whatever people need me to do to ensure success for museum professionals and for the museum field.  


What prompted your switch from working in museums to becoming the head of AMM?

I had several motivations for the switch. It boiled down to:

1.   Family. By the time my son was 3, I began to feel the lack of balance in my life between work and home. I had been conditioned to believe that I could only succeed by dedicating long hours to my institution and responding to every email or request with the highest of urgency. That simply wasn’t sustainable. (In fact, it was just plain wrong.) I needed to shift gears, and the role with AMM allowed me the flexibility to do this without relocating my family.

2.   Goals. After 14 years in the field, I was asking myself what I wanted to be when I grew up. The goals I had set when I started no longer applied. I loved working in the exhibits/experience field, but after a rapid climb up the career ladder, there was nowhere left to go at my institution. I thought about the aspects of my job that brought me joy and set my sights on leadership roles that provided those same opportunities. AMM was a new challenge, and it made me feel entrepreneurial to take on the work. 

3.   People. I was inspired by the wonderful people serving on the AMM board. The chance to work with leaders like Whitney Owens (Cincinnati Museum Center) and Melanie Adams (now director of Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum) was a big plus for me.

Can you talk about the process that brought about AMM’s recent policy change concerning salary ranges on job postings?   AMM is a member-focused organization, and we regularly seek input from members to inform decision-making. We have seen a growing need for diversity, equity, access and inclusion (DEAI) resources and training, and started exploring ways to support our members in these areas.

During this same period, we started receiving appeals to require salary information in listings on our online job board. We understood how pay transparency could support salary equity in our field but felt that any such change needed to involve the AMM community for it to have lasting impact.

We started with a member study in 2018 to learn more about the existing practices and policies at museums in the network, and to get a sense for whether a change in AMM’s policy would impact on their use of the job board. Nearly 20% of our member institutions responded to the survey, and the results removed any concerns we had for implementing a new policy. Many participants also suggested resources we could provide to support them if we were to proceed.

In the year that followed, we continued to share our desire to change the policy with members and listened to their concerns. Their feedback informed the language of the policy, and we have developed a plan for implementation that is inclusive and flexible as a result. (Salary/wage information can come in many forms.) We also started compiling and sharing the resources they requested and recruited sessions for the 2019 conference for continued education.

We invited members to endorse the policy change in a live public vote at the Annual Meeting. It passed with 108 votes in favor and only 1 against. The new policy will go into effect on November 1^st.  


What's next for AMM?  You can’t talk about changes in the field you serve without also looking inward. When we announced changes we were making with the job board, we also shared that AMM is due for some improvements in the areas of diversity and inclusion. 

For example, the board is quite diverse in terms of institution types and disciplines but does not yet represent the demographics of the professionals within our community. We hope to shift that balance over the next couple of years.  

We also want to be more inclusive in our planning process for the annual conference. Milwaukee 2020 is really our first conference that we will get to try out our desired process from start to finish, so we’ll see how it goes!  

AMM will continue to evolve and grow with museums in our region and I am so appreciative of the members who have supported us on our journey.


What advice would you have for fellow museum professionals who want to become more involved in their regional or local museum organizations?
Local and regional organizations have programming that addresses field-wide needs or issues, and along with those resources, it’s important to know that they also provide valuable connections. You can meet with people who share a common, sometimes geographically based, set of challenges and needs. 

I often hear people say that they prefer to attend state or regional conferences because they offer a more intimate setting for building relationships with peers. And, let’s face it, there are probably just a few degrees of separation between you and your next boss. It’s best to network whenever and wherever you can, and local conferences make it super easy (and less expensive) to do just that!


What do you think is the “next frontier” for museums?
I think that the future of museums lies in community relationships and local partnerships.

There’s this ongoing issue of relevance for museums, and I believe that the organizations that will thrive are those working collaboratively with their local governments, colleges and universities, schools, service organizations, and cultural centers to improve the lives of the people in their communities. That’s what helps an organization standout as a resource, as an anchor or even as an essential service.

We can see this today in the new public high school at Grand Rapids Public Museum, Making the West Side programs at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Milwaukee’s Museum Week collaborative, Cincinnati Museum Center’s bounce back after a 2 ½ year closure, and the transformation at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History under Nina Simon’s leadership.

I’m writing this while still thinking about a recent presentation at our conference by Nina Simon regarding OF/BY/FOR ALL. If everyone starts rowing in that direction, the “museum of the future” will be a radically different, highly relevant, and sustainable place. Museums will be poised and ready for whatever changes may come.


What are some of your favorite museums or exhibitions? I’ve been privileged to visit so many museums in my career, of all kinds, and the most impactful experiences were the unexpected ones. I think of the time I wandered into my first Yayoi Kusama installation (You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies) at the Phoenix Art Museum, or the content testing/prototyping space at The Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg, Sweden. Of course, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis holds a special place in my heart too.


If money were no object, what would your “dream” museum project be?  Honestly, I’ve always wanted to create an Alice in Wonderland experience that really immersed visitors in that trippy world using a variety of media. I’ve seen an exhibit or two that scratched the surface but didn’t really fold in the powerful messages of those stories. For example, what if you could climb into a dirt-filled rabbit hole? What if someone used Yayoi Kusama’s immersive tricks (mirrors, lighting, etc.) to create an otherworldly feel? What if we could all have an opportunity to reach beyond what others expected of us and discovered the courage within to conquer the riddles and roadblocks thrown up in this strange land, just like Alice?

If anyone wants to make this happen with me, let me know. I’d love to work on it!



Thanks again Charity for your thoughtful and inspiring responses.  If you'd like to find out more about the Association of Midwest Museums, click over to their website here.



Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, please help support ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"