A histolircal exhibit is a three-dimensional, visual representation of your historical argument. An exhibit combines research evidence, analysis, and interpretation of a specific aspect of history to present a narrative that is meaningful to your visitors.
Museums are an important source of historical information. They provide a place for people of different ages, interests, and backgrounds to come together to learn from history. Museums often celebrate common events and occasionally memorialize tragedies or injustices. They also encourage informed discussion about broad issues of historical significance. Moreover, the process of selecting themes, photographs, objects, documents, and other components to include in an exhibition implies interpretive judgments about cause and effect, perspective, and meaning.
In addition to the artifacts on display, exhibits also communicate historical content through text panels and recordings of historic documents. Depending on the subject matter, a museum may also incorporate videos or other digital enhancements. The physical museum space also serves as a gathering place and event venue for students, community members, families, and visitors.
Some museums focus on one particular area of historical interest, such as a geographic region or time period. For example, the Oregon Historical Society’s Windows on America exhibit showcases how geological processes shaped the state of Oregon, including iconic locations like Crater Lake and Multnomah Falls.
Other museums take a more holistic approach to historical storytelling by combining objects with stories, photos, and other documentation that help visitors understand an entire event or social movement. The museum’s mission should determine the type of history it tells. For example, a museum that focuses on the civil rights movement would probably incorporate documents and photos of individual protestors, while an exhibit about the logging industry might include logs from a historic site.
The modern museum must continually prove its relevance to the people it serves. This requires the museum to be open to telling new stories and demonstrating that it is deserving of its tax-exempt status. This will require hard work, researching new sources, and talking with people whose history is being left out of the story.
A well-crafted exhibition can serve as an effective tool to help students explore the past and develop their own questions about it. It can also help them connect with bigger ideas, such as the importance of diversity and inclusion. Whether they are studying the Civil Rights Movement or the origins of the automobile, historical exhibits can spark a deeper understanding of our shared history.