Sandra Dedmon, age 14, of Vancouver, Wash., for her question:
WHEN WAS THE FIRST DIORAMA MADE?
A diorama is an exhibit that shows modeled figures or objects in front of a painted or modeled background. Often the models become smaller toward the back of the diorama and blend in so neatly with the background that the scene looks real. The first diorama was made more than 150 years ago.
A French inventor named Louis Jacques Hands Daguerre was the man who made the first diorama. He used the word "diorama" in 1822 to describe a series of transparent paintings that he exhibited for a theater he had just opened. The word "diorama" comes from Greek words meaning "a view through."
Daguerre is the man who is credited with inventing modern photography. His exhibitions were held in London and Paris. He used lights and fine gauze curtains in ways that gave a feeling of depth to his dioramas.
Daguerre's ideas still are used by many people in dioramas today.
Many museums today use dioramas. Some of these displays show how people live in various parts of the world. Many dioramas are room sized exhibits that show how people used to live in the past, or even how they may live in the future.
Lots of dioramas are built in showcases. Often this type of display will be used to show slices of life. There may be forests of trees with a city in the background, or there may be a wide ocean set against an even wider expanse of sky showing various types of clouds.
A favorite type of diorama is no larger than a foot wide and a foot deep. This format is used for showing off different types of rooms or famous rooms out of history. Scenes are complete with miniature furniture, real curtains only a few inches in length, doors with tiny braes doorknobs and even pictures and mirrors on the walls. Everything is built to scale.
Often these miniature dioramas include tiny books on the shelves, inch high lamps that really light up, and realistic looking dishes, glasses and silverware on the tables.
Museum dioramas are used to show historical events, industrial methods and even animals and plants in their natural settings.
Often dioramas showing outdoor scenes have curved backgrounds to give them a feeling of distance.
In most cases, dioramas combine a painted background with three dimensional figures and objects to create a story telling scene.
A diorama differs from an ordinary picture since the viewer usually feels drawn into the scene. The diorama is a great success if it can make the viewer actually feel as if he were in the scene.
Many schools include diorama construction projects in their regular list of student activities.