{"id":5725,"date":"2015-11-18T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2015-11-18T16:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumhack.wpengine.com\/?p=5725"},"modified":"2022-11-20T00:36:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-20T05:36:54","slug":"top-lessons-museum-digital-storyteller","status":"publish","type":"do_not_index","link":"https:\/\/museumhack.com\/top-lessons-museum-digital-storyteller\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Storytelling: Top 4 Lessons from \u201cThe Museum as a Digital Storyteller\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Museums and the Web<\/span><\/i> is an annual conference featuring research on\u2014and applications for\u2014digital practices in museums. \u00a0This gathering is unique in that a lot of conference papers are presented for free online. \u00a0One of our favorites from this year\u2019s conference is \u201cThe museum as digital storyteller: Collaborative participatory creation of interactive digital experiences<\/a>\u201d by Maria Roussou, Laia Pujol, Akrivi Katifori, Angeliki Chrysanthi, Sara Perry, and Maria Vayanou.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their study looked at how museums can author digital storytelling experiences that are entertaining without sacrificing scientific and\/or academic integrity. \u00a0During workshops with participants from the Acropolis Museum in Greece, \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck in Turkey, and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the researchers learned many lessons about digital storytelling. \u00a0The following are our top four takeaways from their findings.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mobile
Digital storytelling, through mobile apps, increases visitor engagement with objects.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Gather the Right Tools<\/h2>\n

This study used a specific toolkit derived from the Cultural Heritage Experiences through Socio-Personal Interactions and Storytelling (CHESS<\/a>) research project.<\/span>\u00a0First was a<\/span> plot-based approach<\/b> to creating stories. \u00a0Using various themes, the authors drafted characters and a narrative story; selected specific objects, spots, and paths within the physical museum to illustrate the story; created multimedia enhancements; and ultimately produced a digital narrative delivered through in-gallery mobile devices.<\/span><\/p>\n

Second was the use of \u201c<\/span>personas<\/b>\u201d \u2014 \u00a0\u201cempirically grounded, detailed descriptions of imaginary people (constructed user models) that are represented as specific individual human beings\u201d. \u00a0The authors used personas as a guide by which to experience the museum from different points of view. \u00a0How would a child experience the museum for the first time? \u00a0A young professional? \u00a0A retiree who supported the museum for years? \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, there were <\/span>theme cards<\/b> — each offering information about an object or narrative piece, enabling the authors to \u201cdraw together seemingly unrelated events into one coherent narrative.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Storytelling Can Create New Visitor Experiences, and Reanimate Old Ones<\/span><\/h2>\n

The workshops primarily focused on the creation of new narratives\u2014and new visitor experiences\u2014within the museum. \u00a0Yet at the workshop with Stedelijk Museum, the researchers found that their model could enhance <\/span>existing<\/span><\/i> narratives. \u00a0They were able to use digital storytelling to \u201crecycle\u201d existing objects, exhibits, and interpretive materials\u2014including information about the museum\u2019s artworks and existing audio\/video narrations\u2014into engaging narrations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Workshop
Multiple perspectives create stories that cater to diverse audiences.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Successful Narratives Require Multiple Authors Working Together<\/span><\/h2>\n

In each workshop, the authors were drawn from a variety of different backgrounds. \u00a0They included individuals who were experts at either telling stories, fact-checking & providing content, user needs & physical museum design, or creating multimedia. The researchers found that, \u201cDigital storytelling requires synchronous, collaborative work among different departments, even with external experts, which clearly breaks open the traditional institution as we know it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And this is important, as it showcased the role that each type of author has to play. \u00a0At the Acropolis Museum workshop, the authors included archaeologists, museologists, writers, creative industry experts, and educators.<\/p>\n

One of the archaeologists from the workshop at \u00c7atalh\u00f6y\u00fck stated that such diverse teams helped them not only craft better stories, but also to enhance their own professional objectives: \u201cIt makes you think about experience a lot more\u2026 People were saying: \u2018Wait, we don\u2019t know that. Do we know that? What do we know? How do we know it?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ethan
Storytelling increases visitor engagement, education, and relevance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Balancing Story with Fact Can Open the Door to New Stories<\/span><\/h2>\n

Museum experiences do not need to sacrifice historical or scientific accuracy to be engaging. \u00a0Both in this study, and in our own Museum Hack tours, we\u2019ve learned that storytelling is a tool for the future — providing us a framework for visitor engagement, education, and relevance. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs the first, most essential form of human learning, storytelling establishes a universal way of communication; and because it invites audiences to fill in the blanks with their own experiences, it helps to set emotional connections, which can be deeper than intellectual understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through storytelling, we connect seemingly disparate objects and facts to learn what they can tell us…and in the process, we find out that there is still so much we don\u2019t know. \u00a0This can inspire museum goers, to keep coming back for more stories and more information. \u00a0But it can also inspire them to keep asking questions…and seeking answers. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who knows? \u00a0Maybe the next visitor to walk in your door will be inspired to find an answer to a centuries-old mystery, or make a new discovery that will rock the very foundations of scientific knowledge. \u00a0And the stories contained within museums are the perfect place from which to begin that journey of discovery.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe museum as digital storyteller: Collaborative participatory creation of interactive digital experiences\u201d <\/a>is a presentation and paper by Maria Roussou, Laia Pujol, Akrivi Katifori, Angeliki Chrysanthi, Sara Perry, and Maria Vayanou, originally published on the Museums and the Web website.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Find out about our consulting work<\/a><\/span><\/i>\u00a0with museums, or send us an email<\/a><\/span><\/i>\u00a0to find out more about how we can help your institution with audience development.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":19801,"template":"","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDigital Storytelling: Top 4 Lessons from \u201cThe Museum as a Digital Storyteller\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This study looked at how museums create engaging digital storytelling experiences without sacrificing academic integrity. 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