Though signs and visual cues can enhance a museum-goer s experience, Lee says, the exhibits are the heart of a museum. Most galleries arrange exhibits in chronological order from the earliest works of that period or artist to the most recent. A better approach, says Lee, is thematic arrangement exhibits centralized around a specific event or culture. An exhibit on Egyptian culture, she recalls, allowed visitors to try on costumes of the region as well as to appreciate the crafts and sculptures of ancient artisans. Of course, Lee admits, such ideas have potential hazards.
Clutter can detract from an exhibit.
But such problems could be minimized through careful planning. At a Renoir exhibit in Chicago, for example, a video shown in a small enclave near the gallery allowed viewers to watch the artist work on one of his last paintings, his hands severely crippled from arthritis. It is possible that museum architecture and the design of museum spaces have the potential to help educate in powerful ways, Lee writes. For one thing, If you like something, you ll stay longer.