[Ominous music] You walk into the gallery one morning and discover that something firmly attached yesterday is now hanging by one corner. Or broken on the floor. Adhesives are wonderful. But they are dependent on many invisible things …

Why do our visitors come back? Often, because we have “something new.” But not every kind of “new” works this way. A whole new temporary exhibition can be an event. A single rotated object might be “new,” but not in the same way. …

Many of us assume that if a museum display case has a tray of silica gel, the case's humidity will remain permanently in a stable range. This is not true. 99.99% of display cases are not sealed. And they usually shouldn’t be. In fact …

Climate conditioning for display cases is confusing. One confusing part is what we call the stuff we condition with. Despite what we hear, it’s almost never “desiccant.” A desiccant is a drying agent used to remove moisture from air. …

We have a habit in museums. We assume that artifacts somehow deserve to be shown. They’re from the collection. They’re from the period. They’re authentic. And we need artifacts. So they belong in the exhibition, right? Not necessarily. …

Priceless objects studied by scholars (Neanderthal skulls, the Rosetta Stone) often can’t travel. So we make scientific-quality facsimiles for borrowing. These are “forensic” quality, essentially identical in every detail, worthy of study. …

What can we do when a display is old and culturally out of date, but we have no resources to refresh it? Many exhibitions have this problem. In some cases, there is a clever temporary way to refresh a display. First, don’t change it. Next …

Most objects in museum collections are photosensitive — they can be harmed by light. To preserve such objects, we can only display them lit dimly. So we have to light galleries dimly too, and even use dark interior colors. We end up with a lot of darkness. But …

The most basic form of exhibition planning and design is probably the simple act of framing something. And if you are framing something under glass, you will likely use a mat. Or matt. Or matte. Or mat board. Or matte board. Or mount (in the UK). …

When we develop our projects, we sometimes leave “maintenance” to others. But if we don’t keep “maintenance” in mind, it will come back to haunt us. And there isn’t just one kind. In fact, there are at least five. …

Priceless objects studied by scholars — Neanderthal skulls, Rosetta Stone, Taylor Swift’s engagement ring — often can’t travel. So sometimes we make scientific-grade facsimiles for borrowing. A copy done this way could cost thousands or more. …

I was once given a tour of a new exhibition by the curator. Among hundreds of objects was a large item, very damaged. It was behind all the others, nearly out of sight. When I learned what it was, it was the damage that made it interesting. …

For any member of the exhibition tribe, overlooking what loan agreements mean could easily spell failure. There is a lot to learn — and there’s an MtM podcast episode with more — but three key loan requirements are humidity, temperature, and security. …

(Part 1 of this two-parter got a lot of fan mail. Why? Hit “reply” and tell me what you think.) Here are the final five, including shockers.
Myth #6: Artifacts have to be real. Fact: Good facsimiles are fine. Build the reason for the replica into the story. …

Artifacts — real, unique things — are the heart of many exhibitions. Yet many myths persist about how to use them. Here are the 10 that I hear the most. #1: You need a lot of artifacts. Fact: A few will do. Ten you'll remember is better than 100 you'll forget.

A microclimate is a space in a museum with different environmental conditions than the surrounding area — like a display case or storage room. Usually this is to preserve artifacts by keeping them in ideal conditions to minimize deterioration. …

What is the Paradox of Exhibitions? Exhibitions display collection items that we otherwise preserve and keep away from the public. We take them out of their drawers, their vaults. We bring them into the light. And while we do this, what happens? ...