Streakers?

As an anthropologist, I spent a lot of time creating programs and exhibits. Any program or exhibit is a balancing act between general information and detail. General information is a good introduction, but the details are needed to develop a more complex appreciation of the subject. Luckily, fairly early in my career, I had some good advice on how to do this.

A mentor of mine, Rennie Little, gave me some tips on exhibit signage that also applied well to other things. Rennie said that there were three types of people going to view the exhibit: streakers, browsers, and diggers. The streakers were scanning the exhibit fast; they had somewhere to be in ten minutes. The browsers would take more time and absorb more of the exhibit. Then there were diggers who were going to take a deep dive and wanted the whole story. Rennie’s message was that signage and the exhibit design had to headline for the streakers. Then, provide more context for the browsers. Finally, you needed detailed material for data sticklers who would be there for an entire afternoon.

With variation, I found this approach very useful for structuring many different types of programs. When I was called upon to create a curriculum for teaching courses on marine carving, It was the approach I used with good success. Some of my students wanted to get basic skills for carving quarter boards. but others wanted a deeper appreciation of the field. I had a week to teach them, and with planning, the method worked as well for carving as it had for programs on Saints festivals.