Planning and managing a successful online exhibition – what to considerGrace KimbleSchool Programme Developer

James HattonArchives Assistant

Examples of online exhibitions

Things to think about

1. What?

2. Who?

3. Why?

4. How?

5. When?

Iterative Process

1. WhatChoice of content

• To raise the profile of previously unseen material

• Common request from audience

• To support curators

• To support a temporary exhibition

• To support a permanent exhibition

• To support the curriculum

• Government agenda

• Grant funding

To raise the profile of previously unseen material

Common request from audience

To support curators

To support a temporary exhibition

To support a permanent exhibition

To support the curriculum

Government / wider agenda

Grant funding

2. Who?

• Age/education level

• Wide/narrow range

• Formal/informal

• Accessibility

What will I find out? Why do I want to?

What do I already know

about this collection?

Am I going to visit?

Age/education level

Wide/narrow focus: Levels of information

Degree of formality- Curriculum constraints/ extra information

Accessibility

3. Why?

Who benefits? How do they benefit? Learning Objectives:

•To develop knowledge and understanding of variation and classification•To understand how scientists and historians share, interpret and collect evidence•To select and identify relevant information to use in an exhibition design activity

Generic learning outcomes- Inspiring Learning for all

Returning to ‘What’- more detail this time!Selection of resources

• Collaboration with other departments/organisations

• Digitisation

• Interpretation

• Narrative and tone of voice

• Degree of linearity

• Navigation

• Degree of choice

• Place on website

Collaboration with other departments/organisations

Narrative and tone of voice

Digitisation

Interpretation

Degree of linearity

Degree of choice- site map

NaturePlusVisitors collect content during the Cocoon experience, which they can access later online, to continue their learning.

Look and feel

Placefinder

Navigation

Place on website

4. How

• Software

• Downloads- useful for setting an activity to do- drawback printing out, time taken to download

• Hardware- test with the range of hardware which audience might use: phone/laptop/PC

• How much?

• Planning

Software

•Content management system •Information input• Picture upload• Video • links- time• Structure• Games• Amount of text• Time to learn• Downloads•Updated?

Downloads

Hardware- test with the range of hardware which audience might use: phone/laptop/PC

How is it going to be presented (informs guidance notes)

How much?

-staff time (development/maintenance)

-photographer

-consultation

-hardware

-software

-expertise

PlanningTitle V3 activity

intro- the great move find out more

Can you help us redesign a gallery? intro

Who started the collection? Hans Sloane - archive- chocolate link BM link

How do we know about the past? archive letters- np

Why was a new building needed? Richard Owen flip text

How were the specimens arranged? sorting

Mammal? matching

How are specimens labelled? matching

What are the stories behind the specimens? flip images

has the mammals gallery changed? animals moving again

decision choose animal

what does the mammals gallery look like now image and download plan

competition instructions

5. When Timescale

1. initial ideas (scope for audience input/front end evaluation here)

2. check with relevant departments- curation/archives, learning, press and marketing, learning, external copyright etc.

3. Generate content

4. Input to software platform

5. Review – internal departments

6. edit

7. Review again

8. publish

9. Evaluate- in house/external

10. advertise

11. maintain- e.g. review figures, respond to comments

12. competitions as a means to raise profile

Evaluation method- videoconferencing

EvaluationMr Shibli: You did actually stretch them, it wasn’t a simple activity which sort of just

made them go through the motions without thinking, and some of them,

particularly those who were more resilient really benefited from it.

Laura: (Hans Sloane) went to Jamaica to find different plants, animals and rocks

Sam: he helped with hot chocolate and the making of it

Ifeoluwa: I learnt more about fossils, and how to divide up fossils from minerals,

vertebrates and invertebrates. I liked the way you moved around the boxes, the sections

George: … more games would improve it

Todd: I didn’t think there was enough information about everyone in all the links

Things we learnt

• Try out links outside organisation

• External deadlines can change plans

• Make the most of linking expertise in different departments

• Get audience to read text and see which words they don’t understand!

Questions?

Grace Kimble

School Programme Developer

g.kimble@nhm.ac.uk

James Hatton

Archives Assistant

j.hatton@nhm.ac.uk