The title board can be functional as well as attractive, as in Figure 1.
It puts your main title where it can be seen easily and it conserves
wall space. It can brace the side walls and serve to shield lights.
_Materials._ Attractive exhibit structures can be built from artboard
and similar paper products, so for one-time-only elementary school
exhibits you may not wish to invest in more permanent materials. But if
you look forward to other projects, exhibits, and fairs, you will be
wise to consider materials which will hold up in repeated use. Even
though most fairs do not permit you to compete in successive years with
the same exhibit material, seldom do they require you to build a new
structure each year to hold your changing displays.
“Masonite” and similar wood-fiber particle boards are relatively
inexpensive, take paint and adhesives well, are fairly light, and in
thicknesses of more than ⅛ inch and lengths of less than 48 inches are
sufficiently rigid when supported by adjoining panels. They are
available with rows of holes pre-drilled to accommodate a multiplicity
of “pegboard” hanger devices. If you hope to use your basic structure
for other exhibits, pegboard allows you flexibility in rearranging
three-dimensional exhibit items. Also, the holes facilitate wiring down
display items that might be dislodged by careless viewers or filched by
thoughtless souvenir hunters.
One standard 4-by-8 foot sheet of hardboard or plywood will suffice for
the typical tabletop structure if you divide it as shown in Figure 3.
Plywood and untempered hardboard should be sealed with a primer coat
before finish painting. If you seal the reverse side of the panels also,
they warp less. For finish coats, the enamel now available in aerosol
spray cans will save you some brush work. Always apply spray paints in
several light coats while the surface is horizontal, to avoid unsightly
“runs”.
For bracing, framing, and other woodwork, white pine is strong, light,
easy to work, and unlikely to warp if seasoned properly.
Hinges, washers, bolts, nails, or screws which will be painted may be of
uncoated steel. Otherwise, you may find brass, stainless steel,
aluminum, or chrome-plated steel better.
If your exhibit proves to be a winner, you may need to erect and
dismantle it at several fairs. A little ingenuity and foresight in the
selection of removable-pin hinges, wing-nut bolt assemblies, and the
like, may save a lot of time later and help keep your exhibit structure
in good condition.
[Illustration: Figure 3]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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