Geoheritage Promotion Through an Interactive Exhibition: a Case Study from the Carnic Alps, NE Italy

Abstract

Museum exhibitions can be regarded as a key tool for communicating geoheritage. However, in many countries including Italy, the viewers’ experience is often negatively affected by the old-time style of interpretive panels: In most cases, panels are unattractive, graphically poor, and made user-unfriendly by the disproportionate amount of text in relation to the amount of illustrations. This work analyzes the organization of a recent permanent geopaleontological exhibition dedicated to geoheritage and geoscience communication in the Italian Alps. The exhibition uses a number of innovative strategies aimed at reversing the above trend. In particular, we discuss the ways in which interpretive panels were created and highlight the strategies used to combine traditional popularization tools with innovative, multimedia, and interactive exhibits. We also delve into the role played by a balanced distribution of the topics across the exhibition: The contents need to be consequentially organized and illustrated through simple and intuitive explanations, thereby helping to reinforce the viewers’ perception that the topics they are exploring can be thoroughly understood, and ensure an adequate degree of information sustainability.