I think most museum staff and visitors would agree that labels have
improved as we've strived to focus on the visitors' experience and to use
fewer, more understandable words.  A current exhibit design project in a
new children's museum has lead me to explore the implications of taking
this approach to extreme lengths.  The founders' philosophy is that all
exhibits in the museum are totally experience based and that there is no
need for labels of any kind.  They believe that any relevant concepts or
essential information can be conveyed in programming.

I'd like to know if any of you have experience with labeless exhibits.  Is
it possible to design an effective exhibit without any words?  If so, what
suggestions do you have re: guidelines to follow or pitfalls to avid?  How
do visitors respond.  Do they enjoy the experience or do they demand
labels?  If they do, how does staff respond after an exhibit has already
opened?

Although this particular question involved a children's museum, I'd be
interested in responses from other types of museum as well.  Thanks in
advance for sharing your experience and intuition.

Daryl Fischer