As more museums, cultural institutions, and heritage practitioners begin exploring scent, one question comes up again and again:
Where do I start?
Working with scent involves much more than selecting a fragrance. It requires thinking critically about interpretation, evidence, audiences, accessibility, and what scent can contribute to a visitor's understanding of a subject, place, or story.
I developed three Scent as Interpretation courses with the Fragrance Alliance Network to provide accessible entry points into olfactory heritage and museology. Choose the course that works best for your schedule.
Scent as Interpretation: A Brief Introduction to Olfactory Heritage & Museology (Online)
Designed as a one-hour introduction, this course provides an overview of olfactory heritage, olfactory museology, and the role of scent as an interpretive medium.
Ideal for those who are curious about the field and want a quick introduction to the opportunities and challenges of working with scent in cultural contexts.
Scent as Interpretation: Building a Foundation in Olfactory Heritage & Museology (Online)
For those looking to go deeper, this 2.5-hour course explores the theories, methods, and practical considerations that shape olfactory interpretation in museums, heritage sites, and public-facing initiatives.
Together, we'll examine how scent functions as a medium of interpretation, discuss accessibility and visitor engagement, and develop frameworks for evaluating and planning your own olfactory projects.
The Scent Brief Lab: Translating Research into Olfactory Interpretation (In-Person @ Fragrance Alliance Network)
How does research become a scent?
This in-person, hands-on workshop explores the often-overlooked step between research and fragrance creation. Before a perfumer develops a formula, someone must determine what is being interpreted, what evidence is available, what the scent should communicate, and what audiences should understand through smell.
Drawing on real-world museum and cultural heritage projects, participants learn how to translate research, historical evidence, and interpretive goals into a practical scent brief. Through case studies, discussion, and collaborative exercises, each participant develops a completed brief that can guide creative scent development.
No prior knowledge of perfumery is required. Taking one of the online Scent as Interpretation courses beforehand provides useful background, but it is not required.
Whether you're a museum professional, educator, heritage practitioner, perfumer, researcher, or simply curious about the cultural significance of smell, these courses are designed to provide practical tools you can apply to your own work.
After all, the question is not simply:
"What should people smell?"
It is:
"What can scent help people understand?"
