HIST 101: World Societies to 1453 - M. Petrou
Crafting Museum Labels
Writing museum labels seems like a piece of cake until you begin to write them. There are perimeters for writing a really great label, but there are also numerous aspects to take into account and that begins with your visitors. Your average visitor will not read every single label in an exhibit. Rather, they will browse and skim and only focus on those labels near objects that pique their interest. With this information in mind, take into account the way you skim texts. Left to right, reading the first two to four lines, some of the middle, and the end, as well as symbols or special characters. Write your labels with important information located in those areas if you are able to do so.
Sample Label Writing
Ramesses II
This bust depicts 19th Dynasty Pharaoh, Ramesses II. One of the most well known Egyptian rulers, Ramesses II led Military campaigns in Syria, Libya, and Nubia. While this bust is located in the British Museum, the rulers mummified body is located in the Egyptian Museum.
Museum Labels - Get to the Point
The length of museum labels will vary. You want to keep in mind that when writing labels, brevity is important. This is difficult for some writers because they have been trained to give as much context as possible and to use strong language in scholarly writing. Museum labels should not be written above a sixth grade reading level, yet, they should be thorough and succinct all at the same time.