Transformations don’t have to be big (or expensive!) to be highly impactful. Sometimes a well-loved exhibit just needs a little refresh to look and perform like new.

Here are five budget-friendly exhibit design ideas and enhancements to spruce up your existing space and re-ignite your visitors’ interest.

1. Mind Your Maintenance

Popular exhibits can be victims of their own success! Case in point, this beloved exterior wolf model was highly touchable and exposed to the elements. After a few years, the paint began to wear down and required a small touch-up. Now, the wolf is back to its former, lifelike self—captivating visitors like she was made to do! (Taylor Studios offers a five-year warranty for many of our design-build projects, so repairs like this usually cost our clients nothing!) When you’re designing exhibits for high-traffic areas, it’s especially important to consider the lifetime costs of maintenance and repairs. We preach this often, and in fact have recently written an article on the subject of “Designing Durability” for AAM’s Exhibition Magazine.

2. Purchasable Accessories

Nothing beats creativity and quality custom-built pieces, but sometimes bespoke just isn’t in the budget. Fortunately, there are lots of great off-the-shelf items available to enhance a themed environment. For example, these tree ring cushions were a “prime” addition to Santa Clara’s Coyote Creek Nature Center (see what we did there?)

If you want to encourage people to linger longer, be sure to provide adequate seating! We love the organic look of these soft, modular bench seats we selected for an environmental center in Iowa.

And if you’re looking to feature a touchable reptile (…I mean, who isn’t?), Morgan Reptiles is a great resource for highly realistic models; you can order them painted or unfinished.

To engage younger visitors, consider setting up an activity table with inexpensive children’s books, crayons, and coloring sheets or blank paper for doodling, leaf rubbings, or tracings that connect to your content. You can swap out materials seasonally, so the visitor experience is a little different every time. This simple activity station at Logoly State Park in Arkansas features several options for kids to play, learn, and exercise their creativity.

3. Go Graphic

Vinyl graphics—or even stenciled paint—can be a cost-effective way to add some “wow” to your exhibits. Consider a compelling quotation on a large feature wall to reflect the tone of your interpretive content. Silhouettes of plants, animals, or scenic elements can also enhance the immersive quality of a space. Animal tracks on the floor can provide whimsy as well as wayfinding.

For minimal extra cost, a flat graphic can become a dimensional cutout, adding a bit more depth and interest to a wall display. At Beaver Lake Nature Center in upstate New York, dimensional and flat graphic silhouettes on the walls and central kiosk really amp up the movement and vibrancy of the space:

4. Layer On Activity

Give your returning visitors something new to do, such as this Eye Spy activity at Indiana State Museum. Simple to produce and replace as needed, these laminated sheets help guests identify certain animals in each diorama scene. Distribute them at the entrance to your exhibit with an attractive literature holder; there are lots of sizes and materials available from Displays2Go.

5. Shave Your Alpaca

What…? Yes, you actually read that right! More than just cuddly camelids, Alpacas are also the quirky mascot of Taylor Studios’ own emerging “off-the-shelf” exhibit solution: a catalog of configurable components that allow you to change up your graphics and interactives for a fraction of the typical design-build price tag. Reader rails, flip doors, touch tables, light-up maps, and more—check out the full lineup here: https://taylorstudios.com/shave-your-alpaca

Image Captions (top to bottom):

1 – Exterior wolf model by Taylor Studios, before and after paint touch-ups

2 – Activity table stocked with books, crayons, and coloring sheets

3 – Vinyl quotations add interpretation to empty wall space

4 – Animal tracks painted on the floor guide guests through exhibits

5 – Colorful silhouettes create environment and visual interest

6 – Eye Spy activities encourage and reward interaction with exhibits