Post on 13-Nov-2014
description
Interactivity in Exhibits
Some Thoughts on
Doing Them Well
About Me…
• Working in museums for 18 years or so
• Started out in Evaluation/Audience Research
• Moved on to exhibit planning and development and project management
• Design firms and museums
About Me…
• At the end of January, I had spent 4+ years at the Boston Children’s Museum
• Groundbreaker in development of hands-on interactivity in museums
About Me…
• As of 1 February – Waterloo Region Museum• West of Toronto• New, $ 25 million museum + exhibits, with
interactive components
Some Myths
• They’re only for kids, not adults
• Only useful in children's’ museums and science centres
• Can’t coexist with artifacts
• Just push buttons
• Just computer kiosks
• Just mechanical
• Always break
• Cost too much
• You can convey the same information with text
• You can explain any complex or abstract concept with them
This Is Not an Interactive…
PISEC – A Way to Look at Them
• 1998 study of family friendly exhibits
• Conducted by Minda Borun
• Included:– Franklin Institute– New Jersey State Aquarium– Philadelphia Zoo– Academy of Natural Sciences
• 7 characteristics of family friendly exhibits
1. Multi-Sided
• Family can cluster around exhibit
Brookfield Zoo
V & A
2. Multi-User
• Interaction allows for several sets of hands or bodies– Tied to multi-sided
V & A
KidStage
Peep’s World
The Common
Game On!
3. Accessible
• Comfortably used by children and adults
Making America’s Music
Making America’s Music
The Common
History is All Around Us
4. Multi-Outcome
• Observation and interactions are sufficiently complex to foster group discussion– Not always appropriate in a non-science
setting– “Open-ended” might be a better term
Raceways at BCM
Raceways at BCM
Children of Hangzhou
The Common
5. Multi-modal
• Appeals to different learning styles and levels of knowledge– This is really very difficult in a single exhibit
element– Best achieved by using various techniques
throughout an exhibit
6. Readable
• Text is arranged in easily understood segments
Peep’s World
Peep’s World
The Common
The Common
Children of Hangzhou
Peep’s World
7. Relevant
• Provides cognitive links to visitors’ existing knowledge and experience– Best achieved using Front-End evaluation– Confirmed using Prototyping
Prototyping
Prototyping
Some Other Thoughts/Examples
Costumes
Computers for Keepsakes
Photo Ops
Integrated with Artifacts
Integrated with Artifacts
Integrated with Artifacts - Touch
Integrated with Artifacts - Touch
Integrated with Artifacts - Touch
Feedback Incorporated in Exhibit
Royal Museum of Scotland
Thank You!
James Jensen
Curator of Exhibits
Waterloo Region Museum
jjensen@regionofwaterloo.ca