Ambient scents in museum galleries

Clare Lim <clare.conservation<-at->gmail<.>com> writes

>A local museum is planning to use ambient scents in two of its newly
>revamped galleries that will be opening later this month.  Each
>liquid scent will be introduced into the gallery air by a dispenser
>that releases it as a fine mist at programmed time intervals.

Quite apart from the risks to objects of repeated deposition of
aerosol droplets containing aromatic compounds, has the museum
considered the health risk to visitors?  Some people are extremely
sensitive to scents and suffer breathing difficulties if they are in
an enclosed space with people wearing strong perfume.  What warning
signs will be put up in the museum and on the website?  Although
ambient scents might sound like a pleasant environment, there would
be no choice and no way of avoiding them.  In the UK the normal
practice is to invite visitors to experience scents by (for example)
lifting a lid on a container rather than imposing it on them
compulsorily.

Helena
South West Museums Conservation Development Officer


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:18
                Distributed: Sunday, September 20, 2015
                       Message Id: cdl-29-18-002
                                  ***