"Fred R. Reenstjerna" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >In these log views, with lots of small specimens, labels on >each one would obscure the view of the insects. Are there any >brilliant alternatives to a sketch-type illustration alongside >the log with number codes showing which insects are where? This >would put the interpretive text in blocks, so visitors could >look back & forth between the text & the log view. Here at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, our decomposer diorama does not contain labels itself, as this would detract from the natural beauty (we have more traditionally labelled specimens in other exhibits). The technique used is a series of backlit silhouettes, in various colours (you can code according to level in the food chain, Animal vs. plant paneles, phylum, class, etc). The silhouettes of the diorama indicate the various animals in the corresponding position. More information can be found in associated panels. While forcing the visitor to view the exhibit and label back and forth, it does provide the information sought by the viewer. I would suggest that the interpretive panel be place around the diorama opening (i.e. on the same wall); our panels are on the adjacent, but perpendicular wall, making in a bit harder to compare positions with objects in the diorama. >This raises a more general questions about labels in dioramas. >Since every factor in the landscape - soil type, fungi, moss, >invertebrates, and small vertebrates - is a significant component >of the particular setting, what alternatives exist other than: >a) labeling nothing - just having a general interpretive text >b) labeling everything - so the diorama looks more like a > cemetery full of headstones than a living system; >or the traditional >c) labeling the "important" [i.e., biggest] items - so people > know that a Roosevelt elk lives among hemlocks, but they > don't know why all the ferns, voles, fungi, etc. are all > arond the big items. >Any suggestions? Another alternative, although quite a bit more complex (not to mention costly), is the use of computer based graphics with descriptions. The Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa has done this quite successfully with their Birds gallery. They have used hypertext with sound and video to make a very nice interpretive display associated with their bird mounts/dioramas. -Regards George Wurtak Director of Programs [log in to unmask] >Fred R. Reenstjerna >Research Librarian >Douglas County Museum of History and Natural History >ROSEBURG, OR USA 97470 >[log in to unmask] >--