This document discusses the concept of the participatory museum, where visitors can create, share, and connect with each other around content. It advocates for museums to become platforms that celebrate diverse voices and encourage collaboration. Participatory engagement techniques discussed include making content personal, scaffolding social experiences, designing for thoughtful responses, offering multiple points of engagement, and connecting to familiar frameworks. Case studies from various museums are presented that demonstrate implementing these techniques successfully.

1. the participatory museum
nina simon, museum 2.0
nina@museumtwo.com
@ninaksimon on twitter
slides at http://bit.ly/participatoryhistory

2. where i live

3. what i do
balboa park online collaborative
boston children’s museum
calgary science center
chabot space science center
chicago history museum
denver art museum
experience music project
girls math and science partnership
international spy museum
monterey bay aquarium
oakland museum
SFMOMA
smithsonian museum of natural history
statens museum for kunst
tech museum of innovation

4. why i’m here

5. what i advocate
the participatory museum
is a place where visitors can
create, share, and connect
with each other around
content.

6. in cultural institutions, that can mean...
Cantor Art Center upper: SFMOMA Denver Community Museum
lower: Science Museum of Minnesota

7. and it requires some changes
Authority is content provider

8. and it requires some changes
Authority is content provider Authority is platform provider

9. why would you want to do this?
participation does five things best:
deliver personal relevance
celebrate and network
diverse voices
deliver dynamic content
encourage interpersonal
dialogue
support collaborative +
creative practice

10. why would you want to do this?
participation does five things best:
deliver personal relevance
celebrate and network
diverse voices
deliver dynamic content
encourage interpersonal
dialogue
support collaborative +
creative practice

11. why would you want to do this?
to deliver personal relevance
London Science Museum

12. why would you want to do this?
to deliver personal relevance
London Science Museum

13. why would you want to do this?
to celebrate and network diverse visitors’ voices
Minnesota History Center

14. why would you want to do this?
to celebrate and network diverse visitors’ voices
Minnesota History Center

15. why would you want to do this?
to deliver dynamic content and experiences
Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum

16. why would you want to do this?
to deliver dynamic content and experiences
Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum

17. why would you want to do this?
to encourage interpersonal dialogue
University of Washington

18. why would you want to do this?
to encourage interpersonal dialogue
University of Washington

19. why would you want to do this?
to support collaborative, creative practice
US Holocaust Memorial Museum

20. why would you want to do this?
to support collaborative, creative practice
US Holocaust Memorial Museum

21. why would you want to do this?
participation does five things best:
deliver personal relevance
celebrate and network
diverse voices
deliver dynamic content
encourage interpersonal
dialogue
support collaborative +
creative practice

22. why would you want to do this?
participation does five things best:
deliver personal relevance
celebrate and network
diverse voices
deliver dynamic content
encourage interpersonal
dialogue
support collaborative +
creative practice

23. Oakland Museum of CA:
a case study

25. 17

38. how can you do it well?
what do they
need?

39. how can you do it well?
what are
you about?
what do they
need?

40. how can you do it well?
what are
you about?
what will these
relationships look
like?
what do they
need?

41. five techniques for
participatory engagement
1. be personal / i like museums + heroes
2. scaffold the experience / side trip + art of participation
3. design for thoughtful response / on the road
4. offer multiple engagement points / youtube
5. connect to known frameworks / human library

42. five techniques for
participatory engagement
1. be personal / i like museums + heroes
2. scaffold the experience / side trip + art of participation
3. design for thoughtful response / on the road
4. offer multiple engagement points / youtube
5. connect to known frameworks / human library

43. ilikemuseums.com

45. five techniques for
participatory engagement
1. be personal / i like museums + heroes
2. scaffold the experience / side trip + art of participation
3. design for thoughtful response / on the road
4. offer multiple engagement points / youtube
5. connect to known frameworks / human library

46. 90,000 visitors, 37,000 posters made Denver Art Museum
average time poster-making: 25 minutes

47. social participation also requires scaffolding
GoMA

48. social participation also requires scaffolding
Find someone about your height to help you with this exhibit
GoMA

49. social participation also requires scaffolding
Find someone aboutyour gender to help you with this exhibit
Ask a stranger of your height do this activity with you
GoMA

50. five techniques for
participatory engagement
1. be personal / i like museums + heroes
2. scaffold the experience / side trip + art of participation
3. design for thoughtful response / on the road
4. offer multiple engagement points / youtube
5. connect to known frameworks / human library

52. Lowell National Historical Park

53. five techniques for
participatory engagement
1. be personal / i like museums + heroes
2. scaffold the experience / side trip + art of participation
3. design for thoughtful response / on the road
4. offer multiple engagement points / youtube
5. connect to known frameworks / human library

54. don’t focus solely on creators...
the vast majority of social media users are not creators

55. what makes YouTube different?

56. five techniques for
participatory engagement
1. be personal / i like museums + heroes
2. scaffold the experience / side trip + art of participation
3. design for thoughtful response / on the road
4. offer multiple engagement points / youtube
5. connect to known frameworks / human library

57. I’ve never had a gay friend. It was unbelievably
exciting to find myself facing him with his body,
opinions and identity. It seems he was not very
different from me and especially he was not an
alien. From now on, I will not disrupt my
communication with the gays, I will enhance it.
- Reader in Istanbul, 2007

59. participation can be for everyone
Auckland Museum Minnesota History Museum

60. what’s your idea?

61. contact me anytime
nina@museumtwo.com
http://www.museumtwo.com
Download slides at http://bit.ly/participatoryhistory