An Interpretation Model for Dioramas

Abstract

Museum objects do not exist outside interpretations of their meaning and significance (Hooper-Greenhill, Museums and the interpretation of visual culture. Routledge, London, 2000). A natural history diorama, as a museum object, is classically an artefact, which contains animals and plants in an ecological setting. Visitors are able to view and look with meaning at the organisms in the ecological, geological and meteorological context in which they live. The way in which perception engages with artefacts of our culture may significantly vary from the way in which it deals with the natural world. What are the elements that are involved in interpreting a museum exhibit such as a natural history diorama? I propose an interpretation model that links the various elements involved in interpreting the diorama. This new model is based on Activity System by Engeström et al. (Perspectives of activity theory. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999), which I consider to be the most adaptable in this case. This model may be applied to interpret museum artefacts such as natural history dioramas. A particular example from one child is used to illustrate how the new model maybe effectively applied to data. In this respect, a natural history diorama may be considered a unique model in science in that it depicts what is already recognized as plants and animal rather than rendering visible what cannot be seen such as the atomic structure or molecules.