Experimental zones: two cases of exploring frames of participation in a dialogic museum

Abstract

A matter of concern for dialogic institutions such as museums is the struggle to find appropriate ways of integrating social media and digital technologies into dialogues with visitors. This paper addresses how co-creation and experimental methods may be applied in a situated, natural environment, exploring how these technologies may be shaped to support museum visitor relations. The concept ‘experimental zone’ is suggested as a format for a collaborative design space where digital media-based dialogues are explored in line with professional practices. This concept is discussed in relation to two design experiments undertaken in collaboration with the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology.

Keywords:

• dialogic museum
• social media
• participatory design
• exhibition design
• cultural heritage
• experimental zones

Additional information

Ole Smørdal is dr. scient (PhD) in Informatics and is Academic Director of EngageLab, an ICT design and development team at University of Oslo that work closely with researchers. He has extensive experience from multi disciplinary research projects, including EU projects. In particular, he is interested in using his background from computer science, and bridge it with pedagogical and humanist approaches to design and participation. He has been involved in several projects concerned with communication and interaction design for learning and participation in schools, museums, and cultural heritage organizations in regard to how new patterns and expectations from emergent technologies, such as social media, hybrid spaces, mobility, and mixed-reality applications create new opportunities as well as challenges for current practices.

Dagny Stuedahl is an ethnologist with a dr.polit. (PhD) from University of Oslo, and is currently professor at Norwegian University of Life Sciences. She has been working in multidisciplinary and applied research in the intersection between cultural studies, STS, participatory design and interaction design related to use of digital media in museums, science centers and cultural heritage institutions. She has a special interest in participatory approaches to design, and involving youth development processes. She has edited two books; Wagner, I., Bratteteig, T., Stuedahl, D. (eds) Exploring Digital Design. Multi-Disciplinary Design Practices (Springer Verlag, 2010) and Storsul, T. and Stuedahl, D. (eds) The Ambivalence of Convergence (NORDICOM, 2007).

Idunn Sem is Media Developer at EngageLab, an ICT design and development team at University of Oslo. She has a literature and cand.philol. degree in Media Studies from the University of Oslo. She often takes on the mediator role between researchers and developers and has a varied portfolio of projects and co-written publications. Her research interests are in practice-based inquiry of digital media, exhibition design, electronic arts, embodied interaction, choreography and digital scenography, electronic mediation of research (research rhetoric).