A diorama is a meticulously staged model that can be used for numerous purposes. Many museums and educational institutions use dioramas as educational tools to convey information in an engaging and dynamic manner. A diorama can also be used to convey the shape and form of a proposed building or structure as an architectural model. Many students, especially in elementary and middle school, create dioramas for various classes.
A diorama is traditionally built inside a box. The interior of the box is painted to create a backdrop that varies depending on the diorama’s desired effect. The diorama is then filled with various objects to create a scene. A natural history museum, for example, might create a scene depicting dinosaurs on a prehistoric plain. The diorama would most likely include historically accurate plants and other features in addition to the dinosaurs to make it more interesting to look at.
Museum dioramas are well-known. Many museums use dioramas to set the tone for a collection or display, as well as to bring their collections to life for visitors. Each diorama usually comes with a plaque, an audio track, or an informational brochure that explains what’s inside. Some museums may also change the content of their dioramas to reflect the seasons, and dioramas may also include moving elements.
A diorama’s size can vary greatly. Schoolchildren create dioramas out of items such as shoeboxes; these small models are intended to bring lesson plans to life in an accessible manner for students. They also encourage students to conduct research and return with findings to share with the rest of the class. A museum diorama is much larger, with life-size objects and artifacts added to make viewers feel more involved in the scene.
A diorama can be used to create a small window into a scene or a sweeping panoramic model that makes viewers feel like they are standing in the middle of the scene, depending on the design. The diorama is designed to be manipulated in the sense of an architectural model, so that people can see it from different perspectives and possibly reach in and move parts of it. The moving parts allow people to see how small changes can change the overall appearance of the structure, and they can also be used to illustrate different construction options.