ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how narrative-led, highly interpretive exhibition design was utilized at the National Museum of Natural Science in Taiwan as a route to exploring how natural science museums might engage in contemporary issues and, more specifically, play a part in raising contentious social issues and generate deep reflection on environmental protection amongst visitors. ‘When the South Wind Blows’ displayed a series of documentary photographs capturing the lives and suffering of the residents of Taixi Village affected by the pollution broadcast from the plant of the Formosa Plastic Corporation. Purposefully seeking to prioritise human stories above more conventional forms of scientific narrative and to target adults as opposed to children, the exhibition team sought to create a media rich environment which could potentially open visitors to emotional encounters with the stories of Taixi village and provoke deep reflection on the personal and environmental sacrifices bound up in industrial development in Taiwan. The chapter describes the rationale for the design of the exhibition and presents an analysis of 1,780 visitor comments which suggest that the exhibition successfully stimulated visitors to reflect upon the costs of economic development and the importance of protecting the environment.
