Introduction: Throughout Unit 3 we have read and discussed multiple texts that all relate to an integral piece of world and U.S. history: World War II. For this assignment, you will be researching a topic of your choice related to WWII and creating a museum exhibit. The purpose of this project is to provide you an opportunity to provide a visual and written interpretation of what you have learned while telling a story.
You will research and select a specific topic from World War II.
You will create a museum display showcasing your chosen topic, including artifacts, images, and informational text.
You will present your displays, demonstrating their knowledge, and understanding of your chosen topic.
Your exhibit is a visual representation of your: ● historical argument, ● research, and ● interpretation of your topic’s significance in history. As words are limited on an exhibit, use visuals, such as maps, graphs, charts, photographs, etc. Analyze these visuals to make your argument. Your goal is to immerse museum visitors in the time and place of the artifacts in the museum.
The exhibit will provide an opportunity to learn from the following:
Curator’s Statement and Label- Visual Media (map, drawing, poster, photograph, model, video, etc.)
- Oral Media (audio tour)
- Written Media (timeline, pamphlet, etc.)
Choosing a Topic
Choosing a Topic: you will be allowed to choose (almost) ANY SPECIFIC singular topic that relates to WWII. This topic can be a:
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Individual (Historical Figure)
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Specific Group (Ethnic/Religious, Military Regiment, Special Forces, Etc.)
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Event
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Location (provided that it is a SPECIFIC location, not just a country (e.g. “Germany”)
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Concept/Idea (Anti Semitism, Nazi Ideology, etc.)
The following is a list of topics that are OFF the table (you MAY NOT choose any of the following topics):
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Adolf Hitler
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The Holocaust (NOTE: you may choose something RELATED to the Holocaust (a camp, famous prisoner, etc.), but you CANNOT have your topic just be “The Holocaust” > BE SPECIFIC!)
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Anne Frank
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Elie Wiesel
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Pavel Friedmann
Helpful resources to find a topic:
Resource One:
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters
Resource Two:
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/stories
Resource Three:
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/topics
Remember: This is still school. All school rules apply. Weapons should not be a part of exhibits and please make sure your exhibit is school appropriate.
Writing Strong Research Questions
You can follow these steps to develop a strong research question:
- Choose your topic
- Do some preliminary reading about the current state of the field
- Narrow your focus to a specific niche
- Identify the research problem that you will address
Research questions anchor your whole project, so it’s important to spend some time refining them. The criteria below can help you evaluate the strength of your research question.
Focused and researchable
| Criteria | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Focused on a single topic | Your central research question should work together with your research problem to keep your work focused. If you have multiple questions, they should all clearly tie back to your central aim. |
| Answerable using credible sources | Your question must be answerable using quantitative and/or qualitative data, or by reading scholarly sources on the topic to develop your argument. If such data is impossible to access, you likely need to rethink your question. |
| Not based on value judgements | Avoid subjective words like good, bad, better and worse. These do not give clear criteria for answering the question.
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| Research objectives | Research question formulations |
|---|---|
| Describing and exploring |
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| Explaining and testing |
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| Evaluating and acting |
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Complex and arguable
| Criteria | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Cannot be answered with yes or no | Closed-ended, yes/no questions are too simple to work as good research questions—they don’t provide enough scope for robust investigation and discussion.
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| Cannot be answered with easily-found facts |
If you can answer the question through a single Google search, book, or article, it is probably not complex enough. A good research question requires original data, synthesis of multiple sources, and original interpretation and argumentation prior to providing an answer. |
Exhibits
Exhibits
An exhibit is a visual representation of your research and interpretation of your topic’s significance in history. You will use the exhibit to make an ARGUMENT about your topic. You will use your own words, images, captions, labels, objects, etc. to explain and support this argument for the viewer. You must carefully select the images, text, captions, and other illustrations to include on the exhibit. Exhibits can be creative and awe inspiring, but the HISTORY and ANALYSIS behind them should be the most important part.
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Tell a story! Use signage to tell specific detailed stories. It’s the stories behind historical artifacts that help us feel connected to them. The artifacts on display should be more than lifeless—purposeless objects! Help your visitors feel like they are a part of history by telling a story with your exhibit. As humans, it’s the story behind historical artifacts and moments that help us feel connected to them.
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Use graphic design to create attractive exhibits, from signs and labels to banners and large set pieces.
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Embrace technology and embed it in your exhibits, from interactive kiosks to video monitors, audio, and apps. These can link to your exhibit via QR code.
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Display artifacts in interesting ways. Think about how you’ll display small and large artifacts so they stand out. But leave space and make sure your exhibit isn’t too crowded.
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Use a combination of graphics, labels, signage, sounds and interactive tech to immerse your visitors in the time period, but be sure everything looks and feels cohesive.
In museums, the word "label" refers to the panels of printed information in an exhibition. Research is often an important part of setting up an exhibition. Curators try to find out as much as they can about the objects they're working with, in part so they can effectively interpret the objects (in the form of written labels, lectures, and so on) to exhibition visitors. The most important information could be displayed with larger signs and brief presentations, while the detailed information may be displayed through longer textual descriptions.
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Identify the object. (You might also want to state when it was created if you know this information.)
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Explain what it's made of.
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State who owns the object. (You can also include why the object is important to the owner or to other people.)
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Point out any parts that the viewer should pay attention to and explain why they matter.
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Keep your label short. (Remember that exhibition visitors don't want to spend all their time reading. Also keep in mind that exhibition space is limited.)
Examples
You’ll want to select a variety of types of items to exhibit – artifacts made of different materials, photographs, books, and documents. This variety will automatically lend visual interest to your exhibit.
- What do you want it to look like?
- What footage, audio, photos or animations will you include?
- Will you use a voiceover or narration or text? Maybe a mix of all three?
- What order will everything go in?
Generally, exhibition information is layered – broken down into ‘bite-sized’ portions so that it easy to follow. Every item should be clearly identified with a label. If you need to get lots of information across, consider using text or a voiceover to give a summary. This is a particularly useful way to give background information.
Label text should be very concise, but conversational in tone
First person quotes are engaging
Avoid jargon, unexplained specialist or abbreviated terms.
Expression should be in simple concrete language.
Layers of text may include:
- Title panel – name of exhibition, can be something catchy followed by actual description, e.g. Firebrands, WWI Anti-Conscriptionists in Marlborough. The title sets the tone through words, color and font. Approx. 400pt (10cm high)
- Introductory panel – intrigues and outlines what exhibition is about. Approx. 200pt (5cm high), 50-150 words
- Thematic text panels –story or context for a part of the exhibition. Approx. 36pt (1cm high) 50-150 words
- Extended labels – presents story/context for highlighted items as well as explaining what an item is. Approx. 24pt, 50-100 words
- Object labels - explains what a particular item is and when it was made. Approx. 18-22 pt., 15-25 words
Small displays may combine some of the first two or three panel types. For example, the title and introduction, or a single introductory panel, then straight to extended and object labels.
Consider also if you need an acknowledgement panel and instructions for interactives.