Interactive Exhibits: A Practical Guide to Developing and Operating Interactive Exhibits for Museum and Heritage Professionals
This title will be available Spring 2027. You may place an order and the item will be shipped when it becomes available. Customers outside of North America (USA and Canada) should contact Facet Publishing for purchasing information.
Primary tabs
You don't need to be an ALA Member to purchase from the ALA Store, but you'll be asked to create an online account/profile during checkout to proceed. This Web Account is for both Members and non-Members. Note that your ALA Member discount will be applied at the final step of the checkout process.
If you are Tax-Exempt, please verify that your account is currently set up as exempt before placing your order, as our new fulfillment center will need current documentation. Learn how to verify here.
- Description
- Table of Contents
- About the author
Every year, museums and heritage sites around the world invest millions in developing and maintaining interactive exhibits. These exhibits are delightful, a source of wonder, inspiration and learning, providing joyous, memorable, shared experiences for adults and children alike. Or at least they can be. Sadly, many end up frustratingly difficult to operate, boring or perennially broken. Poor design, ill-conceived content, and badly planned maintenance can lead to wasted resources and missed opportunities for enjoyment and learning.
Interactive Exhibits addresses this gap by bringing together the author’s three decades of experience and insight from across the museum and heritage sector. Providing an overview of the full exhibit life cycle – from initial concept and prototyping to installation and operation – and drawing on lessons from both successes and failures, this practical guide demystifies the process of creating interactive exhibits that truly work. Chapters explore
- what are interactive exhibits and why you need them;
- what good interactive exhibits look like;
- generating ideas for interactive exhibits;
- working with exhibit developers;
- looking after interactive exhibits; and
- the future of interactive exhibits.
Introduction
Part 1: The ‘what and why’ of interactive exhibits
1. What are interactive exhibits and why you need them
2. What does a good interactive exhibit look like?
Part 2: From concept to completion – developing an interactive exhibit
1. From initial idea to exhibit design brief
2. Getting the exhibit developer on-board
3. Prototype testing – the secret sauce of successful interactive exhibits
Part 3: Cutting the apron strings – interactive exhibits out on the floor
1. Installation and snagging – not over yet
2. Life on the exhibition floor
Concluding remarks: advice I’d give my younger self