Nevertheless, museums and historians must routinely navigate this. It’s impossible to be totally objective in the development of a historical narrative because everyone carries biases on at least some unconscious level. Of course as the name suggests, interpretation is subject to interpretation. The most effective interpretation succinctly summarizes the key points of a historical artifact.
Often less is more when communicating information to a broad audience with limited time and attention spans. Interpretation helps shape the perceptive experience of the viewer. There is the artifact-the historical object on display and the interpretation-the explanation providing a contextual reference for the object. When visiting a museum, there are two essential parts of the experience.
