Magna Carta Rediscovered
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Celebrating the Magna Carta with an exhibition
Commissioned by Visit Kent and Faversham Town Council together with the Heritage Lottery Fund, Magna Carta 800 and South Eastern Railways, Magna Carta Rediscovered shows for the first time, to the general public, this extraordinary document dating back to 1300 and recently rediscovered in the town of Faversham.
An exhibition in 6 stages (Faversham, Canterbury, Maidstone, Dover, Sandwich and Rochester), each of completely different size and nature – architecturally, aesthetically and functionally – and built on different levels of interaction and discovery. In addition to admiring the original document, users interact with digital maps, explore high-quality digitised documents, re-enact the sealing of the Magna Carta at the interactive table and write their own clause for a ‘Magna Carta for Today’. The flexible layout of the exhibition created by ETT allowed the exhibits to be freely rearranged and arranged to fit into different spaces while using different technological equipment, such as interactive screens or backlit lighboxes.
The storytelling was divided into individual narrative pills, accessible to users with different levels of knowledge, accompanied by a rich portfolio of archive images.
The exhibit, divided into four thematic areas and enriched with interactive stations, not only told the story, but also presented the main characters involved in the negotiations of 15 June 1215, during which King John was forced to cede power to the barons of his kingdom. For each narrative unit, the exhibition combined a traditional approach to storytelling – i.e. one to three printed panels – with a multimedia and interactive station.
Exhibits
The Making of Magna Carta – A first exhibit consisting of two backlit printed panels and an interactive table. The panels illustrated to visitors the main facts that led to the signing of the first Magna Carta at Runnymede. With the ‘Table of Negotiations‘, children and adults were able to discover the value of dialogue and compromise by playing the part of the four historical characters (King John, the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Marshall and the rebel Barons) who, seated around a table, arrived at the famous agreement of 1215. Each character illustrated was accompanied by a simple description, which was followed by a moment of gamification-style interaction. The computer would randomly select a character and the player representing that character could choose a topic from Commerce, Justice, Property and Taxation, Land Law, Women and Family. Once selected from the touch table, the computer would present the opinions of the different players on that topic. At this point, you would start negotiating – reflecting your character’s opinion – to try to reach an agreement in less than three minutes. By keeping one’s finger on the “Let’s agree” button, the game would be resolved and the actual Magna Carta agreement on the chosen topic would appear on the screen, explaining how the issue had been resolved historically. As the visitor progressed, the narrative became more detailed and specific. The Legacy of Magna Carta – The second multimedia exhibit told how the legacy of Magna Carta had evolved through the centuries: an interactive map of the world from which to navigate and locate all Magna Carta-related activities.
How was Faversham’s Magna Carta written?
The multimedia touch-screen enabled visitors to enlarge high-quality digitised documents of the Magna Carta and to explore and appreciate the ancient calligraphy. In addition, visitors write a personal message, see it appear in the original handwriting on a virtual scroll identical to the original and have the option of sending it to themselves or a friend as a unique memento of their visit.
What does Faversham’s Magna Carta contain?
A series of printed panels depicted a comparison of the Magna Carta of 1215 and 1300, including quotations. The interactivity allowed visitors to delve into and explore the individual quotations by subject or in order of appearance, displaying on the same page the original, its Latin transcription, its translation and, when possible, its commentary.
Magna Carta: Now and Forever
The exhibiyt dedicated to the future of the Magna Carta: visitors could write their own statement on one of three tablets and fill in the digital grade form for the 2015 Magna Carta, addressing topics of global relevance such as cyber security, mass surveillance and privacy, big data, human rights and climate change.
The multimedia supports chosen by ETT in the creation of the exhibition allow visitors to immerse themselves, step by step, in the secrets of the Magna Carta in an interactive manner. Projections, touch screen media and suggestive, state-of-the-art graphics give life to the gamification process, thanks to which the learning process becomes easier and more engaging.