Enhancing the Museum Experience through Game Concepts and Technology

Christopher Ault

Extended Abstract

This poster describes an ongoing research and design project at the College of New Jersey. The project is a collaboration between me, the students of the College's Interactive Multimedia Program and the KidsBridge Tolerance Museum -- an on-campus museum dedicated to raising awareness of tolerance, diversity and similar social issues among local school children. Through my pilot undergraduate course in Interactive Exhibit Design, students and I explored new techniques and technologies to transform the aging museum into an immersive, interactive and personalized experience for children who have grown up with video games and the internet. Drawing from current research in user experience design, game design and museum design, as well as our own museum experiences and analyses, we emerged from the course with two primary proposals that capitalize on design trends and utilize new technology while furthering the museum's existing message.

The first is a system that allows each child to create a personal animated avatar before proceeding through the museum and then to "play as" that avatar in the various kiosks. By scanning their personalized printed "passport" at the various kiosks, each visitor's avatar is visually embedded into the on-screen content of the kiosk, and the content also adapts to reflect the visitor's previous actions in the museum. When the children leave the museum, their avatars remain on a large screen -- a virtual playground where they mingle, and where new visitors have a chance to interact with previous visitors by selecting characters on the playground and reading stories or seeing pictures those visitors created during their visit. The avatar system allows each visitor a more individualized and more direct experience of the museum's content. The system also allows for anonymous data tracking and analysis to assess how effectively that content is conveying the intended message, and to study children's attitudes on subjects ranging from bullying to racial stereotyping. The second proposal is for a web site that extends the museum's message beyond its physical walls. Children who have previously visited the museum can use the code printed on their passport to log in and experience the site using the same avatar -- playing games, navigating virtual environments and even taking actions that are then transmitted to the physical museum, such as posting stories or pictures to a screen or turning on a light in a tree. The web site -- combined with the avatar system -- provides teachers and parents with a platform to continue their exploration of the museum's valuable themes and content.