Alice Parman, Ph.D.
Exhibit Makeovers Workshops
Alice Parman plans and conducts workshops on exhibit planning, custom-tailored for your audience. In recent years, Alice has been a keynote speaker and/or workshop leader for Museums Alaska, Western Museums Association, Idaho Association of Museums, National Museum of the American Indian (with Tribal Museum Planners & Consultants), California Association of Museums, and the Oregon Heritage Conference. Upcoming bookings include an Exhibit Makeovers workshop for AASLH (with Alan Ransenberg of The Alchemy of Design); and a keynote and workshops at the annual meeting of the Utah Museums Association.
On this page, a letter and quote from a museum director show how one workshop participant took the ball and ran with it...and scored a TD!
Contact Alice by phone or email to explore the possibilities.
Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum
Before and After images
with the Executive Director's comments:
Alaska Airlines Exhibit
|
BeforeThe old philosophy of aviation museums was parking aircraft with placards telling visitors the vital statistics of the aircraft (size, horsepower, carrying capacity, etc) and a brief history of that particular airframe. Not much about the human story behind the aircraft. |
|
AfterOur new approach to exhibits involves using the "artifact" to tell the human story that surrounds the aircraft and its use. The environment is more immersive and provides the visitor with the personal link(s) to the hardware or the company. |
Military Expeditions Exhibit
|
BeforeThe old approach of generic exhibit cases with sterile data labels. Some personal information but not very engaging. |
|
After:Using the Jamesway Huts for exhibit cases helps the visitors step back in time and engage with the personal artifacts and the stories they tell. It provides an experience for visitors with a little mystery or discovery involved; "That looks interesting. I wonder what's inside there?" |