Glimpses from the future is a facilitation toolkit for museum professionals to empower young people connecting the dots between past, present and future.
The goal of this project was to develop new strategies to attract teenage audiences and enhance their learning and engagement in a museum setting.
The project included workshops and design experiments conducted at Kastanievej Efterskole and the National Museum of Denmark, combining the principles of speculative design and play, integrated with emerging AI technologies.
YEAR AND LOCATION
2023
Copenhagen, Denmark
CLIENT
Nationalmuseet i København
DESIGN AREA
Play & Product design
MY ROLE
Research and Design
Other partners
Kastanievej Efterskole
Problem
Museums often struggle to engage teenagers, who are perceived as a challenging demographic due to their unique interests and engagement patterns. The project addressed the need for museums to evolve from being passive repositories to becoming dynamic learning environments.
The challenge was to create participatory experiences that resonated with teenagers, encouraging them to engage with complex and controversial subjects, while considering the institutional constraints of museums.
Research questions
- How can museums overcome their institutional challenges and become spaces that invite and engage teenagers?
- How can museums provide agency to their younger visitors and be a safe space to discuss complex and controversial subjects?
- What tools and strategies can designers employ to help museums connect with their younger audiences without disrupting effective practices that are already in place?”
The Outcome
The project employed Participatory Speculative Design as a methodology, allowing teenagers to co-create and engage in speculative scenarios about the future. This approach involved interactive workshops where teenagers used tools like "The Thing From The Future" card game and "Futures Wheel" brainstorming sessions. Additionally, the project explored the use of Generative AI to augment the creative capabilities of museum professionals. This holistic approach aimed to make museum experiences more inclusive, dynamic, and thought-provoking for the younger audience.
