Discovering Anzacs Ten tips for creating a World War I exhibition
The following tips are designed to assist school and community groups when developing their own
World War I exhibition.
1. Planning and research
2. Promotion
3. Sourcing items locally and from other collections
4. Writing content
5. Designing a layout and displaying objects
6. Copyright permissions and citations
7. Loan agreements
8. Sensitivities
9. Preservation
10. Evaluation
1. Planning and research:
 Start by setting up a project team and identify roles and responsibilities to develop the exhibition.
 As a team define the purpose, target audience, stakeholders, theme, size and timing of the
exhibition.
 Explore funding opportunities, for example local councils.
 Consider collaborating with your local RSL, library, historical society or school.
 Allow sufficient research time to ensure that your exhibition is inclusive and representative of your
community.
2. Promotion
 Consider using a range of media to promote your exhibition such as newspaper or local
advertisements, school newsletters, social media and public programs. Public programs, such as
guest speakers, workshops and events can generate continued interest.
 Consider an exhibition opening and invite local media.
3. Sourcing items locally and from other collections
 Consider using a range of materials such as photographs, postcards, newspaper clippings, medals,
letters, diaries and oral histories.
 Incorporate a digital element into your exhibition, for example iPads, computer or interactive screen
for people to be able to search Discovering Anzacs for service records or access to the interactive
timeline.
 Print and display the topics to provide context for your local images or objects to suit your exhibition
theme.
 Print and display the service records of people who were born or enlisted in your local area. To do
this, use the mapping tool on Discovering Anzacs.
 Search the National Archives’ collection via RecordSearch to find other World War I content.
4. Writing content
 Writing content for an exhibition or display is like writing a story – you need a beginning, middle and
an end.
 The content in an exhibition is made up of a title, introductory panel, theme panels, sub-theme
panels, captions and labels:
- A title informs and attracts your audience and should be no more than 6 words.
- Introductory panel – identifies the theme of your exhibition. This should be no more than 50
words.
- Theme panels – introduce specific themes within the exhibition up to 200 words, in
paragraphs of no more than 75 words each.
- Sub-theme panels – for larger exhibitions, with no more than 150 words to interpret specific
ideas relating to a group of objects.
- Captions – interpret an individual object and should be no more than 75 words, including the
object name, date and interpretive text.
- Labels – contain object name, date, citation and provide object information only.
 Keep sentences short and simple, avoid jargon or technical terms whenever possible and relate the
text to your target audience.
5. Designing a layout and displaying objects
 Think about visitor circulation through the exhibition. How do you want your audience to experience
your display? Is it a chronological story or theme based (on experiences, emotions etc.)?
 When displaying objects consider what you want visitors to remember, the overall message, and
different perspectives.
 If you have showcases check how people look into them – from above, the side. This will help to
work out where to position objects, labels and panels to be viewed.
 Consider the size, font and lighting for visitors to best read the text.
6. Copyright permissions and citations
 Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to creators and producers of various categories of
material. It is your responsibility to contact the copyright holder for permission. For details on
National Archives’ collection items see the copyright fact sheet.

Most institutions have a preferred way of citing their sources. See individual institutions for these
guidelines.
For National Archives’ records use the following citation:
National Archives of Australia: Series number, control symbol
For example:
National Archives of Australia: A11803, 1914/89/13

For items on loan check with the owner about the citation to be used. A common citation for
borrowed objects includes:
Image/item, date, courtesy of [name].
7. Loan agreements
 Ensure you have a written agreement with collection owners when borrowing items. Museums
Australia (Victoria) has a useful Loan Agreement template.
8. Sensitivities
 A warning sign at the beginning of the exhibition can be used if the content may cause distress.
 When referring to a name or image of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person display the
following message:
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this exhibition contains
images or names of people who have since passed away.
9. Preservation
 Images and objects deteriorate over time. It is important to consider preservation of included items
for the life of the exhibition. This includes lighting levels, support materials for fragile items and
other environmental hazards such as food/drink in the display area. For information on how to
preserve items see the resources page on the Museums Australia (Victoria) website.
10. Evaluation
 Evaluating your exhibition is the key to improving processes, future exhibitions and funding
opportunities. Evaluation can be used within the project team and with visitors and members of the
public. For more information on evaluation see the Australian Museums website.