I think there are several strategies worth considering, other than
signage (and some can be quite attractive if designed well):

1.  Acoustiguide(R) or other electronic "docents" that provide
information through a hand-held device (like a telephone handset),
either by a continuously playing tape (which must be stopped as visitors
travel to the next spot) or electronically transmitted at each station
(message play continuously but can't be heard until the visitor is
within 5 meters or so).

2.    "Personal Information Managers", such as the Apple Newton, are now
being piloted at the Minneapolis Museum of Fine Arts (Minnesota) as
portable, interactive "labels".  It consists of a small computer with a
touch screen (about the size of a book) and as you wandered through the
exhibit, the visitor read the screen to find out information about the
exhibit, period room, or selected objects.

3.  A much less expensive method is to provide a booklet, brochure, or
even just a page that visitors carry with them to read.  You probably
want to laminate or print the books on plasticized paper (such as
Kimdura(R)) so they can be reused by other visitors with little wear or
tear.

Despite your reluctance to use signs, please do reconsider after
reading, "Signs, Trails, and Wayside Exhibits" by Suzanne Trapp et al
(1994).  It's available through the College of Natural Resources at the
University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, WI 54481 for $20.  For more
information, call Dr. Michael Gross at (715) 346-2076.

Julia Clark wrote:

> Can anyone help with some innovative strategies for the above.
> I am on the Port Arthur Heritage Advisory Panel, responsible for
> heritage
> advice to the Board of the Port Arthur Historic Site, Tasmania,
> Australia.
> Colleagues may remember it most recently as the scene of an horrific
> massacre by a lone gunman in 1996.It has a much longer history of
> horror
> than that however, having been for several decades in the 19th century
> a
> prison for transported felons. Much of the site is now removed or in
> ruins
> but it retains a powerful atmosphere and some impressive ruins of its
> major
> buildings. Some buildings are intact, albeit heavily restored.
> Does anyone know of any good strategies for interpretation on such a
> site
> that do not involve 'signs on sticks'? Personal experience or
> references to
> published work, conference papers etc would be very welcome.
> Thanks and best wishes for the New Year to you all
> Julia Clark



--
M. A. van Balgooy
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