Creating Exhibits That Engage

John Summers is manager of Heritage Services and Curator for the Regional Municipality of Halton in Ontario, Canada, where he leads, develops, designs and fabricates exhibit projects. He has taught students about museology, material culture, museums and technology, and exhibition design and planning for the Ontario Museum Association, the Fleming College Museum Management and Curatorship Program, the University of Victoria’s Cultural Resource Management Program and the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information, where he is an adjunct lecturerof Museum Studies. He is course director for Exhibit Planning & Design in the Ontario Museum Association’s Certificate in Museum Studies program. His experience spans more than three decades of work at cultural institutions in Canada and the United States.

• Part I: Context, Audience and ProcessChapter 1: The Nature of Exhibits Chapter 2: Audience Chapter 3: Workflow Part II: Concept DevelopmentChapter 4: The Big IdeaChapter 5: Brief and Request for Proposals Chapter 6: EvaluationChapter 7: Interpretive Planning Chapter 8: TextChapter 9: BudgetPart III: Design DevelopmentChapter 10: DesignChapter 11: CuratorshipPart IV: Fabrication Chapter 12: StudioChapter 13: Workshop Chapter 14: Exhibit FurnitureChapter 15: Installation and BeyondAppendix 1: Developing an Institutional Exhibit PlanAppendix 2: Creating Travelling ExhibitsAppendix 3: Sample Request for ProposalsAppendix 4: Four Design Strategies

Creating Exhibits that Engage: A Manual for Museums and Historical Organizations provides an excellent and needed manual that puts together all the disparate parts in a cohesive and intelligent way . . . I most definitely recommend this useful manual as an excellent addition to the how-to shelf of any exhibition marker's library.