Museum 2.0

OCTOBER 15, 2009

Over the past year, I've noticed a strange trend in the calls I receive about upcoming participatory museum projects: the majority of them are being planned for teen audiences. Why are teens over-represented in participatory projects? Why are teens over-represented in participatory projects?

Teen 24

Teen Participatory Experiment Museum 24

Museum 2.0

MARCH 28, 2008

Being a trusted source of information can be a barrier that keeps us from sharing content with visitors that might be more contemporary, more ambiguous, more contentious--information that may not be trusted. It makes us uncomfortable with opening museum content up to comment, tagging, and alterations by visitors.

Participatory 20

Participatory Museum Teen Voice 20

Museum 2.0

MARCH 27, 2009

I saw teens and adults who sat and did this activity for 45 minutes and wasn’t surprised to hear that some people spend over an hour on it. In the more formal poster gallery, I saw many pierced teens listening unironically as their parents enthused about Jefferson Airplane. Projects design participatory museum.

Denver 21

Denver Museum Arts Remix 21

Museum 2.0

AUGUST 25, 2009

We have different conversations on the phone than we do in person or in internet chat rooms. I'm not talking about guiding content; I'm talking about guiding form. If your goal is to encourage visitors to perceive themselves as partners in the content co-creation experience, make room for their thoughts sooner rather than later.

Design 31

Design Goal Difference Platform 31

Museum 2.0

MAY 16, 2007

The recent flurry of restrictions that has sent teens fleeing? I want to see more multi-person exhibits, more prompts for discussion about content, more tools to facilitate connecting wtih other visitors whose interests are similar or in some way useful to your own. When you think of MySpace, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Museum 20

Museum Myspace Facilitation Social Network 20