An eduational show exhibit

[Call_Me_Bob]

Hi guys!
thw president of my OS has asked that i make an educational exhibit for our upcoming show. but i dont really know what is excpected. i have never been to any orchid shows so i dont understand the judging and exhibits. i understand that it is too much to explain ALL about OS shows and entering, but could someone tell me specifically about the educational exhibit section? also, if anyone has ever done one or can provide an example, that would be great! ideas are also welcomed!!

[Call_Me_Bob]

Bump

[Call_Me_Bob]

No one :\

[Triffid]

Not sure how much I can help but places to start usually means questions to answer

~ Examples of Orchids In History and Art?
~ How they became known as Orchids? (I'm sure you know the answer)
~ Why tug at so many heart strings across the world. Why the Mass appeal?
~ How come you can cross breed species so readily compared with other plants?
~ How many Varieties are there?
~ How do they breed in the wild?
~ Natural Selection? Certain Ophrys for example evolved to attract certain species of Bees (and insects) and not others. This in turn may mean their demise in the wild due to the decline in Bee populations.

Just a few starting points to think about.
and ask yourself, If I were completely New to Orchids what would be the questions I would ask and want to know?
Hope that helps a little. Hopefully some one else may pipe in.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Thanks that helps, those are some good topics.

But, what I really need to k ow is whatit should look like. I know that it will be judged as a whole and each plant will be judged individually as well.

Should it look like a science fair project?with that cardboard thing? Or what? It's in that area that I'm really clueless

If anyone has any pictures of one, that would he appreciated!

[Royal]

Hey Bob,

I'd say that it probably shouldn't look too much like a science project, and more like an art display. The content will just be informative as well as visually pleasing. In order to provide info on your subject, you probably will need some sort of poster, board, or something to post photos and info, but it should look nice. I suggest black or a dark/dull color that isn't distracting.

I've seen photos of a few educational displays. One focused on native orchids and had some on the table in bloom. Another one was all about potting media and had a neat row of nice clean pots filled with different materials. You could focus on a particular aspect of orchid culture, a specific genus, propagation, etc. You can never go wrong with conservation.

[Triffid]

How it looks really is up to you, however there are some key rules to creating an educational display (IMO).

Keep it simple. You don't want so much going on that the viewer can not absorb everything that is there to be seen. if there is too much going on the viewer may just get a sensory overload and move on (so to speak)

Make it easy to understand. Long Paragraph which to the Expert would be easy to understand are not always a good idea, you want the mass appeal so you should make sure that if you use certain terms there is something present to allow the viewer to understand what you are saying.

Make it Fun When you make things have a bit of fun and sense of humour it often adds to the appeal and reduces the fear factor. When someone doesn't understand something they will sometimes put up a barrier and thus stop themselves from learning more. It is up to you to help those people get over those nagging doubts and fears about the subject.
Quizzes for example.
Colouring in for the kids.
....and so on.


And if you want to know how to make it look, I would try an image search on "Educational Displays" and also check out your local Museums and the like.

PS I want to see photos of the finished Display
....and I say Royals right about the Conservation aspect

[Call_Me_Bob]

Thanks guys!! How much if it would be writing? Should I write a few paragraphs or a few pages? I will do some searching on the web. But I think conservation is a good idea as well as potting medium. I was thinking maybe do something either abou conservation, or Mexican laelias But I also want to do something that's appealing to beginners, but don't want it to just be something the judges have seen time an time again.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Just image searched google but I didn't find anything

ps. Do you know if other people are allowed to contribute plants? As I don't know if I will have anything in bloom. Much less anything in bloom that has to do with any of my topic ideas. I might have a neo in bloom, it has a small beginning of a spike now. An the show is in late October, so I don't know if it will be ready or not. But I could do something on neos, but I don't know much about them

[Call_Me_Bob]

Or I could do one on genetics and hybridization. Though I don't know a whole lot on the subject