ABSTRACT
Modern museum philosophies aim to provide different learning and social opportunities in galleries by transforming select spaces into collections study centres and hands-on discovery rooms. As Hooper-Greenhill reveals, 'in recent years the museum world has begun to accept that visitors are not a passive, homogeneous mass of people'; they are in fact, individuals who possess different learning needs and bring with them different agendas in which to experience the museum. Backing the museum-going experience model, Fraser talks about the need for a varied and exciting visit to the museum which provides visitors with a multidimensional experience as opposed to the uniform experience of the past. The main interpretation in the galleries is accessed through interpretive benches rather than object labels. Falk and Dierking, rightly observe that the use of technology 'is effective only when its use is well thought out and the integrity of the content of an exhibit is retained'.
