The museum that I visited most recently was the California African American Museum (CAAM) during our class field trip. The exhibit there that I found most interesting was “Politics, Race, and Propaganda: The Nazi Olympics, Berlin 1936”. What was unique to me about this exhibit was the lack of actual artifacts that were displayed, instead most of the exhibit was text, videos, music, and other images/media describing the history and people involved in the Berlin Olympics.
The technology used by this exhibit was definitely more “old-school”. There was not a lot of interactivity (for example iPads) yet, the use of technology was still very important for the experience of the visitor. In this case, I would say that the technology utilized by the exhibit (text, videos, etc.) was actually more impactful than the artifacts themselves. The artifacts, the torch used in the Berlin Olympics and a medal from the Berlin Olympics, are interesting to look at but alone they would not be able to provide the same experience. The text was not just describing the artifacts but also describing the historical and political context of Berlin and Nazi Germany in general at the time. There were also personal stories of athletes who were involved in the Olympics as well as athletes who decided to boycott the games. Not only were these Olympics described from the viewpoint of African Americans who attended the games, but the experiences of other groups were also detailed. This provided a full narrative that made viewing the objects more meaningful.
The way that the exhibit is set up makes it clear the order in which you should look at each wall of text and most everyone seemed to progress through the exhibit in the same manner. I found that I read nearly all the text that was provided and it seemed that everyone else going through the exhibit spent an equal amount of time there. I thought that the music being played in some areas of the exhibit also added to the experience. For me, it was interesting that the two physical artifacts were placed at the entrance to the exhibit and at the exit; I am not sure exactly why they chose to do that.
Overall, I enjoyed experiencing this exhibit and the other viewers I observed also appeared to take their time in the exhibit and absorb all of the information it offered. Perhaps adding more videos instead of wall text might be helpful because it was a lot to read. Though I personally prefer reading to viewing a video in exhibits, some viewers might get more out of watching a video.