Dialogic Learning in Museum Space.

When I wrote this article ten years ago, many museums were beginning to articulate their mission in terms of a dialogue with communities. In practice, however, that dialogue occurred mostly in the context of education and public programs; exhibitions tended to maintain a detached, authoritative voice. As a significant site of (informal) learning, how can museum exhibitions also be dialogic? In this article I explore the possibility of self-reflexive museum exhibitions - approaches and techniques by which curators and designers can engage visitors in history but also in its making. Specifically, I describe one model exhibition, and offer suggestions for how the Australian War Memorial could engage visitors more actively in the process of making that site meaningful.