While “increasing visitor engagement” might seem like the Holy Grail for a museum creating a trail, Rebecca Mileham, a consultant at TextWorkshop, which specialises in museum text, does not like the phrase.
“It can be confusing for people outside the museum world,” she says. “I would tend to describe trails as taking you more deeply into the stories of a place or collection.”
Mileham, who runs workshops on writing trails, says that a good trail is like any other effective interpretive text. It should answer the fundamental question: why is this collection here?
“When we have a great collection, there’s a feeling that it’s interesting in its own right – but your visitors don’t necessarily realise that.” she says.
An effective trail often involves a sense of mystery and revelation, taking people on a journey to help them build a picture of an exhibition or attraction’s significance, says Mileham. Often it will also incorporate elements of playfulness, competition or a challenge.
“Bringing in our human instinct to play is really powerful,” she says. “It shouldn’t ever be a test. A trail could have a quiz format, but it’s not about seeing whether your visitors have been paying attention.”
“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” she adds. “There are lots of creative ways that people have found to put trails together.”
Taking a creative approach can bring a venue to life for different audiences, says Kate Measures, a consultant at Heritage Insider, which works with museums, galleries, historic houses and outdoor heritage sites to improve visitor experiences.
The firm recently helped the Tudor Merchant’s House in Wales create trails around the National Trust property. The first, in 2013, was a trail called Tudor Family Fortunes that saw visitors take on roles of different members of a Tudor household.
The next year they created a trail for adults based on Tudor myths and superstitions. Instead of a sheet or booklet, scrolls placed around the house guided visitors. “Once you have the content you can mash it up in different ways,” says Measures.
Trails tend to require small amounts of text, she says. Heritage Insider run workshops where they encourage participants to write “micro-stories” the same length as a tweet (140 characters).
“For lots of trails, you only need text that’s a tweet or two tweets long,” says Measures. “You’re telling a story that’s compelling, but you’ve got to keep it simple. A trail is a gateway to helping visitors explore further. It’s not giving them everything.”
The process of testing and refining is important, says Measures, because there are many small things that can be improved, and even a small amount of testing can lead to much better value for money. “For trails in particular, testing is absolutely invaluable,” she says. “There are issues in terms of moving visitors physically and intellectually through a story.”
Common mistakes are having too many stops and providing unclear directions. “Instructions for getting from one place to another are really hard to write,” says Measures. “You don’t want lots of lost visitors.”
Visitor feedback is particularly important for audiences with specific needs, such as disabled groups. Museums should “really stand in the shoes of their visitors and if possible work with them to develop the content,” says Measures.
Many museums create trails in-house, but with so many different things to think about it is also common to use external support to help devise the content, format and design of a trail.
This may involve tapping into academic expertise, or using a consultancy, which can carry out research or help hone the existing ideas and knowledge of museum staff into a compelling story.
Bespoke consultancy can be expensive, but there are also cost-effective options for building trail know-how, such as one-day workshops. Heritage Insider offers a trails toolbox that includes a simple six-step guide to creating a “kick-ass trail”.
And Jane Yorke of Blackbird Publishing, who create trails for museums and heritage sites, says that while they factor printing costs into the price of some jobs, they also provide resources that smaller museums are able to print themselves according to demand.
It is worth putting some thought into how best to reach audiences, since assumptions can turn out to be incorrect. Heritage Insider was surprised by research they carried out for the National Trust on trails that used outdoor activity backpacks.
“The trust thought it would be a very specific type of family that wanted them, but actually every visitor segment really wanted this kind of interaction, including teenagers,” says Measures.
But while it may not be possible to know for sure how an audience will respond, every trail, says Measures, must follow the same basic principles.
Like any good interpretive material, it should suit audiences, resources, and weave in the unique stories of a site.
Links
The next trails workshop, hosted by Textworkshop, is on 10 March at the Hunterian Museum
More information on Heritage Insider trails workshops
“It can be confusing for people outside the museum world,” she says. “I would tend to describe trails as taking you more deeply into the stories of a place or collection.”
Mileham, who runs workshops on writing trails, says that a good trail is like any other effective interpretive text. It should answer the fundamental question: why is this collection here?
“When we have a great collection, there’s a feeling that it’s interesting in its own right – but your visitors don’t necessarily realise that.” she says.
An effective trail often involves a sense of mystery and revelation, taking people on a journey to help them build a picture of an exhibition or attraction’s significance, says Mileham. Often it will also incorporate elements of playfulness, competition or a challenge.
“Bringing in our human instinct to play is really powerful,” she says. “It shouldn’t ever be a test. A trail could have a quiz format, but it’s not about seeing whether your visitors have been paying attention.”
“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” she adds. “There are lots of creative ways that people have found to put trails together.”
Taking a creative approach can bring a venue to life for different audiences, says Kate Measures, a consultant at Heritage Insider, which works with museums, galleries, historic houses and outdoor heritage sites to improve visitor experiences.
The firm recently helped the Tudor Merchant’s House in Wales create trails around the National Trust property. The first, in 2013, was a trail called Tudor Family Fortunes that saw visitors take on roles of different members of a Tudor household.
The next year they created a trail for adults based on Tudor myths and superstitions. Instead of a sheet or booklet, scrolls placed around the house guided visitors. “Once you have the content you can mash it up in different ways,” says Measures.
Trails tend to require small amounts of text, she says. Heritage Insider run workshops where they encourage participants to write “micro-stories” the same length as a tweet (140 characters).
“For lots of trails, you only need text that’s a tweet or two tweets long,” says Measures. “You’re telling a story that’s compelling, but you’ve got to keep it simple. A trail is a gateway to helping visitors explore further. It’s not giving them everything.”
The process of testing and refining is important, says Measures, because there are many small things that can be improved, and even a small amount of testing can lead to much better value for money. “For trails in particular, testing is absolutely invaluable,” she says. “There are issues in terms of moving visitors physically and intellectually through a story.”
Common mistakes are having too many stops and providing unclear directions. “Instructions for getting from one place to another are really hard to write,” says Measures. “You don’t want lots of lost visitors.”
Visitor feedback is particularly important for audiences with specific needs, such as disabled groups. Museums should “really stand in the shoes of their visitors and if possible work with them to develop the content,” says Measures.
Many museums create trails in-house, but with so many different things to think about it is also common to use external support to help devise the content, format and design of a trail.
This may involve tapping into academic expertise, or using a consultancy, which can carry out research or help hone the existing ideas and knowledge of museum staff into a compelling story.
Bespoke consultancy can be expensive, but there are also cost-effective options for building trail know-how, such as one-day workshops. Heritage Insider offers a trails toolbox that includes a simple six-step guide to creating a “kick-ass trail”.
And Jane Yorke of Blackbird Publishing, who create trails for museums and heritage sites, says that while they factor printing costs into the price of some jobs, they also provide resources that smaller museums are able to print themselves according to demand.
It is worth putting some thought into how best to reach audiences, since assumptions can turn out to be incorrect. Heritage Insider was surprised by research they carried out for the National Trust on trails that used outdoor activity backpacks.
“The trust thought it would be a very specific type of family that wanted them, but actually every visitor segment really wanted this kind of interaction, including teenagers,” says Measures.
But while it may not be possible to know for sure how an audience will respond, every trail, says Measures, must follow the same basic principles.
Like any good interpretive material, it should suit audiences, resources, and weave in the unique stories of a site.
Links
The next trails workshop, hosted by Textworkshop, is on 10 March at the Hunterian Museum
More information on Heritage Insider trails workshops