Designing for Play and Appropriation in Museum Experiences involving Tangible Interactions and Digital Technologies

Abstract

GLAM institutions have increasingly incorporated visitor experiences into their space as a way to position themselves in the "experience economy", and approach the ideals of "immersive heritage" and sensory museuology. The ludic turn-i.e. the introduction of play in the GLAM space-has been identified as one of the key turns that assists GLAM institutions to move towards those ideals. However, play, and the appropriation it bring in the space, can be disruptive. Following a research-through-design method, the focus of this Ph.D. research is to explore how to design experiences that use tangible interactions and digital technologies that facilitate play and appropriation in the GLAM space, along with providing insights on ways that this appropriation can be used to redesign the experience. To explore that topic, an empirical study along with four design experiments are conducted in the space of the Danish Architecture Centre.