what will the museum of the future be like?
Can iPads / tablets bring visitors closer to collections?
I'm researching how using tablets are changing the way people engage with museum collections (via MA in Digital Heritage, University of Leicester).
Essentially, I'm after some really good case studies - either with museums which have long experimented with interpretive media, or those using tablets as a way into tech-enhanced learning.
If your museum is currently using tablets and you'd be happy to allow me to conduct some research, could you get in touch? Or if you know of another institution experimenting, I'd love to hear about them. I'm based in the UK, but interested in international examples.
For a bit of context, I've included some of the questions I'm exploring below.
Many thanks,
Cath
Research questions
- How have recent technologies, including mobile technologies, tried and, in some cases, failed to address the challenges posed by learning in museums?
- How are tablets currently used in museums, and what is the potential for future/enhanced use?
- What are the advantages of using tablets in museums to enhance learning (themes might be: personalized; location-aware; informational models; learning styles; participatory; blended; ubiquitous)?
- Are tablets a viable, sustainable platform for most museums? Are ‘BYO’ devices a genuine alternative?
- Who is likely to use tablets (staff and/or visitors)? Is there a target audience/profile of user? Do they change the dynamic between staff / visitor; or within groups of visitors?
- What is the potential for widespread adoption in museums? Could the tablet become a ubiquitous feature – the museum’s interpretive tool of choice?
Tags: iPad, learning, mobile, tablet
Views: 1192
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Christina Kamposiori on -
Maybe you would be interested in checking the QRATOR Project in UCL which deals with similar issues in the UCL Museums. You can also find the contact details of the people working on it.
Hope that helps!
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Permalink Reply by Catherine Mollie Stuart on -
Hi Christina
Brilliant suggestion, thank you. I've also checked out the Imperial War Museum London's use of tablets in their Family at War exhibition ... the objective seems to be pretty similar; getting people to engage with objects on the spot, to create a new kind of content. I wonder how much visitors enjoy reading the comments of other visitors? One to check out in more detail, certainly.
Cath :-)
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Permalink Reply by Naomi on -
Hi Catherine,
I don't know if it's any good for your research but Amsterdam Museum is an history museum who have launched a new crossmedial exhibition called DNA. With the use of 3D-film they are bringing the historical objects to life. With a QR-code you can find out your own "DNA" and afterwards you can download a museumapp. This MuseumApp guides you through Amsterdam, past places linked to the themes in the exhibition: enterprise, free thinking, creativity or citizenship.
http://www.amsterdammuseum.nl/en/exposition/amsterdam-dna
Best,
Naomi
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Permalink Reply by Catherine Mollie Stuart on
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Hi Naomi
This is so interesting! I love the fact that you start with the virtual, animated tour and then - from taking part in the game - are directed on a physical tour of the city. The only thing is that now I'll have to go and check it out! Better go look at Euro rail fares!
Cath
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Permalink Reply by Mel Horder on -
I would have a look at MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart, Australia. I worked there as a gallery attendant until recently. There is not a single label or sign in the museum about any of the pieces on display. Visitors are handed an 'O' device (basically a modified ipod/iphone) which acts as gps within the museum. If visitors want to find out more about a piece they can using the O Device. Without the labels you notice that many take more notice of what they are looking at in front of them instead of just wandering from label to label and barely glancing at the art piece.
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Permalink Reply by Catherine Mollie Stuart on
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So this is a completely panel-less museum! I've not yet come across this, so it's an ideal thing to check out. Really interesting to see how visitors react (and interact) when the dependency on the text panel goes. Thanks Mel, much appreciated.
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Permalink Reply by Kylee Vogel on -
Hi Catherine
I would suggest the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney Australia. They have integrated an app as a navigation tool for visitors. They combine a lot of different devices throughout exhibitions including, projection displays/touch screen, large format screens (for both media and touch interaction - table and vertical), tablets (for simple information presentation and activity/game based interaction) as well as the use of QR codes to replace labels with an app specifically developed for the corresponding exhibition (Love Lace).
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/
I find that if you look at Science Museums you will see more history in how technology has been integrated into the museum space and how visitors experience the different modes of interaction. I think tablets and mobile devices have been able to be used in other museums/galleries because of how it has saturated the commercial market as well as peoples thirst for knowledge delivered through a "self-service" format.
Hope that helps!
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Permalink Reply by Catherine Mollie Stuart on
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Hi Kylee - this is really helpful. I know that Powerhouse are always at the forefront of things, and I was reading about their Waterworx app, delivered on tablets in-gallery. Great point about science museums illustrating much of the history of museum interactives. I want to focus on where iPads 'fit into' that context so I'll definitely draw on that. Thanks!
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Permalink Reply by S. Thorhauge on
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Hello Catherine,
You might want to check out the edu. program called Golddigger http://www.gold-digger.dk/index.html, offered by Skovgaard Museum in Viborg, Denmark http://www.skovgaardmuseet.dk/
It's all in Danish, of course. But if you contact the museum, there is someone there who can explain Golddigger to you.
Best, Sally
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Permalink Reply by Marc Griesshammer on -
Hi Catherine
I'm new here and came across this post because I'm about asking the same questions as you did here. Have you come by some case studies in addition to the mentioned links here?
I'd be glad to here from you since we are about to renovate and reorganize our museum to get it fit for a relaunch in 2014/15 :-)
Best regards
Marc
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Permalink Reply by Emma Aadahl on
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Another example which may help that I've encountered, is the Warner Studios Harry Potter experience tour just outside of London. Though this is an exhibition rather than a museum, it uses audio visual techniques that can be adapted for museums. They incorporated touch screen audio visual devices on lanyards slightly larger than a standard smartphone. There are numbers around the exhibition and when you select that number on the audio visual device it contains facts and videos about that part of the exhibition, as well as interviews with the film makers and behind the scenes footage. This allows visitors to take in the sets and props more as they are being explained to them, and keeps the panels to a minimum similar to what has been done in the Mona Gallery explained above. This worked well as they could be listened to with earphones, meaning that they can play music over speakers in the exhibition from the film to add to the atmosphere. The audio visual guide was also narrated by one of the stars of the film which made you feel closer to the collections and arguably makes the guide more appealing for a younger audience as well as an older one. This could be adapted for museums by having a fictional historical character related to the museum collections performing the narration.
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