ABSTRACT
Visitors to museums are no longer satisfied simply gazing at worthy displays of exhibits in glass cases. They expect to be actively involved with the exhibits, to learn informally and to be entertained simultaneously. In the face of declining budgets from government sources, museums have been forced to identify and meet the needs of a discerning public, and they have been thrust into competition for the public's time and money with all other branches of the leisure industry, from commercial theme parks to retail shopping or home entertainment. In short, museums have become increasingly aware of the need to redefine their role in society, reaching a broad visitor market, not only to earn additional revenue, but also to justify any remaining public subsidy. Museums throughout the world are looking at ways to improve access to their exhibitions so they can be enjoyed by more people. There are many ways of doing this: for example, the use of new technologies, visible storage or live interpretation are all perfectly valid ways of trying to demystify museums and help visitors make more sense of the collections. However, as the twentieth century draws to a close, many new exhibitions are designed exclusively with hands-on exhibits, whilst many more incorporate hands-on exhibits within traditional exhibitions or in galleries utilising a mixed range of interpretative media. In the UK, the hands-on approach has spread from the first science centres to museums, and subsequently to heritage and countryside interpretation centres. The design, management and operation of hands-on exhibitions is very different from that of traditional galleries, and requires different professional skills. This book aims to assist those contemplating the development of an interactive exhibition, drawing on experience in the UK, USA and Europe.
