Author: Alexandra Speaker
Tucked away on the second floor Hall of North American Wildlife at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CMNH) is a sun-dappled woodland scene centered around a pair of Pennsylvania’s state animals: the White-Tailed Deer! During my internship with the Exhibits Department at the CMNH, my supervisor offered me the opportunity to come up with an idea that would increase audience engagement with this diorama, which is sometimes passed by in favor of the more dynamic attention-grabbing displays that surround it.
At a quick glance, the diorama looks like a single, quiet moment captured in the woods, with the deer standing still, frozen in their place. However, the more engrossed I became with the display, I started picking up on the other creatures that are tucked away in the landscape, like the blue jay up high in a tree, or the minuscule salamander that is almost indistinguishable from the ground except for its thin red stripe. These subtle, but impactful other animals brought this depicted scene to life and thus became the focus of my project to bring more attention to this diorama.
To begin, I researched engagement strategies used in the past with dioramas at the CMNH and other natural history museums. I found that interactive engagement with visitors was often a successful way to boost immersion and visitor involvement with a display. One detail that stood out to me was the wood turtle, whose skin can change colors depending on its environment; their color can be red, orange, or even yellow! Striking facts like this became central to my approach; small, unexpected, but intriguing information that may capture the attention of a visitor and make them pause to participate in the search & find, rather than quickly passing the case and glancing inside.
Using this research, I developed a new “search and find” activity for the display. Visitors are invited to locate animals within the diorama with callouts to their general location and often a feature that makes them more visible, or by their surroundings. After I finished drafting my initial text, a colleague in the Exhibits Department generously offered to review and edit my work. Their feedback aided me in refining my language choices and structuring a final version that aligned with the goals of the museum and provided accessible engagement for all visitors.
Since then, I have been conducting visitor evaluations to gauge the impact of my activity. Early observations suggest that visitors are spending more time at the diorama and engaging with it more intentionally than months prior. People pause, converse, point out spotted animals and search the scene together, which was more uncommon in my prior evaluation of the diorama.
Throughout the final days of my internship, I will continue to observe and obtain results. This experience has not only helped me utilize and develop new skills in designing and developing content, but it has also shown me that engagement with visitors can take many different forms, and in this case, what I opted for was to prompt people to slow down and notice what they may often otherwise overlook. This is one of the many opportunities I have been afforded during my time as an intern for CMNH, and in my few remaining days I am excited for whatever opportunity may come next.