Good, not great

Published on 09/08/2012 00:00

I was surprised that Ann
Rayner (Letters, 6 August) found the Catherine the Great exhibition at the National Museum both “excellent” and “world class” in conveying information to visitors. I found the exhibition both enjoyable and very informative, but the numbering and labelling of the exhibits and the content of the text left something to be desired.

The numbers of the exhibits referring to the labels were sometimes difficult to find, some labels were in shadow and others near floor level were difficult to read. However, once found, the language in the relevant labels was good.

The timeline describing a journey, near to the entrance, was difficult to follow, as neither a starting point nor a direction to follow was indicated.

Regarding content, Catherine the Great was variously referred to as Catherine, Ekaterina, Catherina II and Sophie without making this multiplicity of names clear to the reader.

There did not appear to be any clear logic to the ordering of the exhibits. A plan of the layout and a map of the countries mentioned in the exhibition would have helped considerably.

While these did not spoil the exhibition, they did make it more difficult to follow and become totally absorbed in it.

Colin Millar

Middlemuir Road

Inverurie