Glimpses from the Future is a facilitation toolkit for museum professionals to empower young people to connect the dots between the past, present and future.
This project aimed 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 speculative design principles and play 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
The Challenge
Traditional museums often face challenges in engaging with teenagers, a demographic with unique interests and engagement patterns. This project seeks to transform museums from passive artefact repositories into dynamic, interactive learning environments.
Guiding this research are three critical questions:
- How can museums overcome institutional constraints to become welcoming and engaging for teenagers?
- How can museums empower teenage visitors to engage in meaningful discussions on complex and controversial topics while ensuring a safe and supportive environment?
- What tools and strategies can designers use to help museums connect with their teenage audiences, enhancing rather than disrupting effective practices?"
A school visit at The Nationalmuseet i København
Glimpses from the future
Empowering museum visitors to connect the dots between the past, present, and future!
The toolkit includes a set of tools for facilitating participatory activities that integrate speculative design and future studies methods in a workshop format. It is designed to encourage participants to engage with each other and the exhibition topics in a collaborative and thought-provoking manner.
Box content:
- Gameboard (1x)
- Event panel (1x)
- Glitch Cards (60x)
- Magnetics sticky notes (28x)
- Non-permanent chalk markers (3x)
- Glitch record card (6x)
- Postcards (60x)
- Years; Topics; Action Verbs labels (12x;32x;32x)
- Chalkboard eraser (1x)
Scenario builder
The scenario builder is the first activity of the game.
It is designed to engage participants in reflective and collaborative exploration of exhibition themes. Rooted in the principles of the Futures Wheel, this activity encourages groups to articulate their thoughts, emotions, and insights to create a shared knowledge base that guides and prepares for the other activities.
By mapping out potential future scenarios, participants navigate through intricate layers of cause and effect, stimulating critical thinking and creative dialogue around the exhibition's key topics.
Glitch Cards
In this activity, players collaborate to interpret a cryptic image, a 'glitch' from the future. They explore its significance and connection to the exhibition's themes and the narratives that emerged during the first activity.
Participants then record their insights on a glitch record card, articulating their personal interpretation of the visual clue. This can lead to a diversity of ideas and perspectives, enriching the group discussion.
Designed to spark imagination and creativity, these deliberately ambiguous images invite open-ended interpretations.
Postcards from the future
The toolkit includes 60 'Postcards from the Future', each a distinct canvas for participants to share their thoughts and visions of what's to come.
These postcards span a range of narratives about the future, from optimistic to pessimistic, embodying the diverse outlooks and emotions that the future can inspire.
After engaging with the exhibition and toolkit activities, participants are encouraged to write on these postcards, crafting messages from a possible future to the present day.
The 'Greetings from the Future' activity deepens their connection with the scenarios they've explored, allowing them to express their hopes, concerns, and unexpected discoveries about the future in a reflective and creative manner.
Design process
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.
Get in touch!
Interested in learning more about "Glimpses from the Future" or exploring collaboration opportunities? I am always open to discussing this project and its potential customization.
Whether you're an educator, museum professional, or simply curious about participatory design and future studies, feel free to reach out.
Contact me at hi@francescoaloisio.com or click the button below. You can also find me on LinkedIn.
Let's explore how we can work together to bring innovative educational experiences to more audiences.
