Museums around the world are creating exciting participatory experiences for their visitors by harnessing the potential of games. These five sessions bring the fun–featuring inspiring projects that invite visitors of all ages to engage, create, and play!
1. Augmented Play: Empowering Young Audiences with Immersive Technologies in Museums
Marc Barto, Senior Producer Digital, V&A
Kathryn Box, Team Leader: Young People and Families, V&A
V&A Learning team uses design-led participatory practices to develop their public programs. Discover two compelling case studies showcasing how digital try-on experiences have elevated visitor interactions with museum objects, creating memorable and educational moments for young audiences.
2. Nature-Inspired Digital Games: Developed through a Collaborative Museum-University Partnership
Miranda Kerr, Head of Learning Innovation, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum partnered with students from DePaul University’s Game Development II course to develop games for an elementary school student audience inspired by the museum’s collection and exhibitions. The result was six nature-focused, web-based games built in Unity, including custom animations, sounds, and game mechanics, as well as valuable collaborative partnership for future iterations.
3. Let’s Get Phygital: Combining Physical and Digital Interfaces in Museum Games
Chris Evans, Principal & Founder, Drumminhands Design
Kellian Pletcher, Director of GLAM innovation, FableVision Studios
Imagine museum interactives that combine the durability and flexibility of digital with the satisfaction and tactile learning of physical objects. “Phygital” experiences—combining digital and physical interfaces for museum engagement—include AI overlays as well as alt controllers where visitors can use physical objects to control digital environments. You’ll hear from designers and creators using digital/physical interfaces to wash digital boats, play the digital drums, and redirect digital water.
4. Above the Clouds: Integrating Machine Learning, Virtual Reality, and Immersive Technologies into the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum
Chad Hutson, CSO, Dimensional Innovations
Chris Riebschlager, Director of Creative Technology, Dimensional Innovations
At the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, visitors explore Amelia’s remarkable story while immersing themselves in the Art Deco era and early years of flight. In the rich, technology-focused displays, visitors can test their mechanical eye in an effort to restore the world’s last remaining Lockheed Electra 10-E; practice celestial navigation using a sextant; and even test their pilot skills in a VR flight experience.
5. Virtual Woodworking Studio: How to Create an Interactive Pilot for an Experimental Gallery Space while Your Museum is Expanding
Kimberly Lý, Interactive Media Producer, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s experimental digital interactive pilot focused on woodworking processes spans physical and digital environments. This space plays a significant role in the institution’s digital expansion through a digital interactive pilot focused on contemporary artist processes of woodworking. Using an online gaming platform, they have created an immersive experience that guides visitors through the practice of various artists in the museum’s permanent collection.
Don’t miss out on these sessions and many more at MCN 2024, October 22–24 in Lawrence, KS!