New Media in Museums

Foteini Valeonti / Interactive Digital Media / ID:95461809 / f.valeonti@rave.ac.uk

This document is a research on the use of new media in museums and its purpose is to provide the context
for my major project. It is divided into three parts; the research process, the report and the bibliography.

Part A. Researching new media in museums

The research strategy followed in this project could be divided into four major parts as illustrated in the
diagram below. These are firstly the definition of the project’s subject, then the research and review of the
literature published on topic, the study of the resources gathered in the previous step and as a final step the
merging of the parts chosen to be included in the essay in a structured and coherent essay.

Theme   Literature  
Study   Writing  
definition   review  

Theme Definition: During this step I studied new media with the book of Lev Manovich, “The Language of
New Media” (2005, MIT Press) as well as how they have been used in advertising with the Paul Springer’s
“Ads to Icons” (2007, Kogan Page), since my initial interest was the use of new media in advertising.
Afterwards, visiting a couple of museums which use new media, I did a primary research on how this
technology is being used in exhibition spaces. I finally decided to study the contribution of new media to
museums, as this is usually for educational purposes, and education is another area of interest for me.

Literature Review: Analyzed in the next chapter.

Study: Here I studied the resources suggested from the literature review. However, there were times where I
needed to go back and research a specific area which was not well explored in the literature review. I used the
skim-reading technique as well as going through the book’s contents to save time by studying only the parts
close to my topic. By the end of my study, I knew which parts of the resources I was going to include in the
essay.

Writing: At that part of my research, I made a clear structure of the essay and composed the texts selected
from my study with my own findings and observations in an order so that the essay will be grasp with
coherence.
Literature Review
Questions and evaluation criteria
The main question of this literature review is “How do museums take advantage of the emergence of new
media?”. For the needs of this research this question is divided into two subcategories which examine the use
of new media regarding learning, “How new media facilitate learning in museums?”, and regarding mobile
devices, “How mobile devices are used to serve a museums needs?” All the resources have been evaluated by
the criteria of argumentation, ability to track evidence and by the author’s credibility.

Defining new media and a museum’s needs

Firstly for the definition of new media as a term Lev Manovich’s “The Language of New Media” (2005) as
well as definitions found on online dictionaries, www.thefreedictionary.com, www.searchSOA.com provide
accurate descriptions of the term, avoiding examples. Additionally, for the clarification of the roles a
museum has in the society the “The Museum’s Community Role” (Parman, 2006) as well as “The educational
role of the Museum” (Hooper-Greenhill, 1994) provide a wealth of information.

New media in museums

The use of new media in museums could be characterized as a narrow field, so there is not a large amount of
literature published on topic. Furthermore, given the fact that internet is the most common new medium of
our era the resources regarding this subject are mostly informal lacking of argumentation. The resources
which match the evaluation criteria are “New technologies for Museum communication” (Hooper-Greenhill,
1995) and “New Media, New Museums?” (Meijer, 2005) which both describe the needs of a museum and
how the capabilities of the new technology can serve them. The former could be characterized as out of date
but due to its analysis of the new media in museums on a conceptual level its findings can be applied even
nowadays.

New media in museums for educational purposes

Regarding the way new media facilitated learning, Tim Caulton’s “Hands-on Exhibitions” (1998) gives a
theoretical background on how this technology could contribute to the educational aspect of museums.
However, for keeping the research on a real basis, the way technology facilitates learning could be examined
through real projects. Some case studies of representative projects in this regard are “Experiences on a
multimodal information kiosk with an interactive agent” (Makinen et al., 2002), “Collaborative Gaming in
the Gallo-Roman Museum to Increase Attractiveness of Learning Cultural Heritage for Youngsters”
(Luyten, et al., 2008), “Speeches of Display: Museum Audioguides by Artists”, (Fischer, 2004). All these case
studies are officially published and well referenced.

Mobile-devices in museums
For the use of mobile devices in the museums “The Electronic Guidebook: Using Portable Devices and A
Wireless Web-Based Network To Extend The Museum Experience” is an analysis of how this technology can
be used in museums to facilitate their needs. The use of the mobile devices can be also examined through
representative case studies. “The design of Prisoner Escape from the Tower : an interactive location
aware historical game” (Reid, 2007) is one of them while the case about the iPhone application of the
National Gallery could be examined through a couple of articles from online journals; “Gallery launches
"Love Art" iPhone application.” (Elliot, 2009), “Love Art: The National Gallery review” (Williams, 2009).
Part B. New media in museums
This report examines the use of new media in museums. Firstly, it is analyzed what is meant by the term
“new media” and then follows a summary of how this technology has been used in museums. The subject of
this report is examined in two different aspects; by purpose and by device. Both of them include case studies
of projects which were distinguished either because of their success or innovation. As a conclusion there is a
summary of the topics analyzed in the report along with some observations.

Definition of new media

According to Lev Manovich (2001) “new media represent a convergence of two separate historical
trajectories: computing and media technologies”. Both terms used in this definition “computing” and
“media” are generic, proving that new media is an even broader term. Computing could be defined as the use
of computers (www.thefreedictionary.com, § Computing) while media are the means of communication
(dictionary.reference.com, § Media). Thus the combination of these two areas results that new media is
a term for all forms of electronic communication (searchsoa.techtarget.com, § new media).

The use of new media in museums thus far

At first, museum theorists found computers to be of great advantage for the everyday tasks of museum
workers behind the scenes. Computerization in the offices made some tasks easier or quicker and it was
beneficial to connections between departments (Hooper-Greenhill, 1995, p. 85). Museums automated their
documentation systems, putting collection records into computerized databases instead of the previously
used index-card systems. (Meijer, 2005 p. 4) However, apart from using new media to automate procedures
of the past, museums started researching better ways to exhibit their content and engage their audience
taking advantage of the brand new possibilities technology had to offer.

Purpose-driven approach (Learning in museums)

The roles a museum has in the society vary from visitors’ attraction to a center of learning and creativity
(Parman, February 2006). According to Tim Caulton (1998) new media contribute to the educational aspect
of museums, because an interactive museum exhibit has clear educational objectives which encourage
individuals or groups of people working together to understand real objects or phenomena through physical
exploration which involves choice and initiative. In this chapter, they are firstly analyzed the aims a museum
should fulfill regarding education and afterwards it is examined the way new media facilitate learning in the
museums.

Considerations regarding learning in museums

Museums have a number of philosophical and practical considerations when planning learning
opportunities. Some of them are to engage in learning as constructive dialogue rather than as a passive
process of transmission, to take on the role of privileged participant rather than that of expert and to
facilitate lifelong learning by providing a free-choice learning environment that permits a plethora of
pathways and possibilities. (Hawkey, 2004, p. 2) According to these considerations, since the emergence of
new media, museums have been researching and developing new ways to take advantage of them regarding
education.

How technology serves education in museums

New media facilitate learning in museums in a variety of ways. The most common one is serving as an
interface for the presentation of information.. A more advanced use of new media is the contextualization of
a museum based object with Virtual Reality showing for example, how the whole object was and the way it
was used, or how an animal lived. Additionally, every museum nowadays uses one or more websites to
extend the learning experience beyond the museum building. Furthermore, technology is used to provide
access to the museum’s collection for people with different needs, for example audio guide for visually
impaired people or multimedia guide for schools (King, 2003) Gaming, a large subgroup of new media, has
also been used to enhance the learning experience and increase attractiveness of museum visits for
youngsters (Luyten, et al., 2008).

Case Studies
From all the examples stated above, in which technology contributed to an easier and more pleasant
learning, some cases could be distinguished, either because of their success, for example the audio tour, or
due to the innovation and uniqueness in both conceptual as well as physical level. Some of these cases are
analyzed below. These are firstly the use of the audio tour, then “Smarthistory” a website project which
provides in an innovative way the wealth of MoMA in artworks and information regarding the history of art,
as well as “Archie” a prototype of gaming in museums using mobile devices.

Audio  and  multimedia  tour  

A widely used new media project in museums is the audio tours. An audio tour or audio guide provides
a recorded spoken commentary, normally through a handheld device, to a visitor attraction. It provides
background, context, and information on the things being viewed. (Fischer, 2004, p.49) Audio guides are
often in multilingual versions and can be made available in different ways. They are usually rented on the
exhibition space, more recently downloaded from the Internet, or available via the mobile phone network.
With the evolution of technology audio tours are being replaced by “multimedia” tours. A multimedia
electronic guide is a device specially designed to provide audiovisual or textual content to museum visitors. It
may also provide alternative content corresponding to different personal preferences (www.wikipedia.org, §
Audio toor). Some of the museums which offer multimedia tours are MoMA, Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert
Museum.

Smarthistory  
Taking advantage of the World Wide Web and the abilities databases offer regarding data manipulation
MoMA launched “Smarthistory”, a Webby Award Winner website for 2009. According to Lotte Meijer, one of
its creators, “Smarthistory” is an online multimedia art history ‘web-book’ developed by New York art
historians and professors Steven Zucker en Beth Harris as an enhancement or even replacement of the
traditional static art history text book. The website discusses over 200 of the high points of Western art
history from antiquity until today, in text, audio, and more than 150 videos. The website is aimed at both
goal-oriented and casual users, by allowing a multitude of ways to find the content. The user can quickly
search by period, style or artist name, or browse through thumbnails of the artworks in the image browser on
every page. On the artwork pages, the text and videos are joined by a map that quickly places the artwork in a
time and place, links to other interesting websites and photos of the artwork that were contributed to
“Smarthistory”’s Flickr pool (museummedia.nl, § Case Study 7: MoMA WIFI and Smarthistory).
“Smarthistory” is available both for all the internet users as well as for the museum’s audience via its special
version for mobile devices.

Archie  
Archie  is  a  mobile  guide  system  that  uses  a  social-­‐constructivist  approach  to  enhance  the  learning  experience  
for  museum  visitors.  The  implementation  focuses  on  conveying  the  key  messages  of  the  museum  narrative  by  
means  of  mobile  games  that  relate  more  to  computer  games  than  to  classic  ’edutainment’.  Archie  stimulates  
collaborative   learning   activities   by   encouraging   its   users   to   communicate   each   other.   The   effectiveness   of  
Archie  has  been  validated  by  extensive  user  tests,  as  over  400  participants  used  the  mobile  guide  and  evaluated  
it   on   different   aspects   such   as   usability,   attractiveness   and   learning   effects. One of the conclusions from these
evaluations was an increased motivation for learning about cultural heritage by youngsters (Luyten, et al.,
2008).

Medium-driven approach (Mobile devices in museums)

Recent  advances  in  wireless  technologies  create  the  potential  to  significantly  enhance  the  experience  of  a  visit  
to   museum.   In   the   exhibition   space   visitors   carrying   wirelessly   connected   portable   devices   can   be   given  
opportunities  for  exploration,  sharing,  explanations,  context,  background,  analytical  tools  and  suggestions  for  
related   experiences.   (Semper   et   al.,   2002)   Thus,   both   for   their   capabilities   as   well   as   for   their   advantage   of  
portability,   mobile   devices   such   as   cell-­‐phones   or   media   players   are   getting   more   and   more   popular   in   the  
museums.  As  shown  in  the  previous  chapter  they  are  commonly  used  for  audio  or  multimedia  tours  but  apart  
from   that   there   has   been   a   considerable   amount   of   work   in   the   development   of   new   ways   a   mobile   device  
could  serve  a  museum’s  needs.  In  this  chapter  they  are  analyzed  some  cases  which  represent  the  range  and  the  
quality  of  research  taking  place  in  this  area.  

Love  Art:  The  National  Gallery  

In  2009  the  National  Gallery  became  the  first  ever  gallery  to  make  its  paintings  accessible  through  an  iPhone  
application,   in   a   move   to   make   possible   for   all   the   users   of   the   application   to   take   a   tour   of   the   Gallery  
anywhere   in   the   world.   The   application   is   called   "Love   Art"   and   features   250   paintings   from   the   collection  
along  with  around  200  minutes  of  audio  and  video  content,  including  interviews  with  National  Gallery  director  
Dr.   Nicholas   Penny,   dramatist   Robin   Brooks,   artist   Maggie   Hambling   and   the   author   of   “Girl   with   a   Pearl  
Earring”  Tracy  Chevalier  (Elliott,  2009).  The  application  contains  information  about  some  of  history’s  master  
artists,  including  Van  Gogh,  Da  Vinci,  Rembrandt  and  Renoir.  There  are  eleven  artists  featured  and  their  works  
are   explored   through   video   and   audio   clips,   while   it   also   lets   the   user   take   a   look   at   works   from   the   artists  
themselves.   The   artworks   can   be   browsed   in   a   variety   of   ways   for   example   by   artist,   or   even   by   selecting   terms  
such  as  ‘Honesty’,  ‘Vanity’  and  ‘Devotion’.  Furthermore,  zooming,  into  the  paintings  is  supported  accompanied  
by  an  audio  commentary  (Williams,  2009).  

Prisoner  Escape  from  the  Tower  

Tower  of  London  is  not  a  museum,  but  as  an  exhibition  space  concerned  to  educate  the  audience  about  the  
tower’s   history   it   meets   the   criteria   to   be   included   in   this   report.   “Prisoner   Escape   from   the   Tower”  is   an  
interactive   location   aware   historical   game   designed   for   visitors   to   the   tower.   The   idea   is   that   instead   of   the  
passive  reading  of  plaques  and  looking  at  the  Bloody  Tower,  tourists  are  able  to  explore  the  tower  with  PDAs  
re-­‐creating  prison  breaks  (Pearson,  November  2007).  The  game  uses  mobile  devices  with  GPS  and  Active  RF  
transmitters  and  receivers  to  trigger  events  and  interactions  around  the  tower  and   with   the   Beefeaters.     The  
game  is  based  on  authentic  historical  events  and  players  help  prisoners  to  escape  by  completing  tasks  which  
allow   them   to   re-­‐enact   their   actual   escapes.   “Prisoner   Escape   from   the   Tower”   is   an   alternate   reality   game  
which   allows   visitors   to   learn   about   the   tower’s   history   while   interacting   with   both   real   and   virtual   people   and  
events  (Reid et al., 2007).  

Conclusion
New  media  is  an  electronic  communication  technology  which  since  its  emergence  is  being  used  in  exhibition  
spaces  serving  a  variety  of  purposes  in  countless  forms.  New  media  give  the  opportunity  to  museums  to  offer  
to  their  audience  a  captivating  interactive  experience  through  which  one  of  the  main  aims  of  every  museum,  
learning,  is  achieve  in  the  most  pleasant  of  ways.  From  a  medium  point  of  view,  mobile  devices  combined  with  
technologies   such   as   the   internet   and   GPS   are   widely   used   in   the   museums   due   to   their   great   advantage   of  
portability.   Concluding,   in   this   report   it   is   proven   that   whenever   there   is   a   new   technology   invented   museums  
research  and  develop  ways  so  that  it  can  serve  their  needs.  

 
Part C. Resources
Bibliography

Manovic,  Lev.  (2001)  The  Language  of  new  media.  Massachusetts.  MIT  Press.    

Hooper-­‐Greenhill,   Eilean,   ed.   (1995)   New   technologies   for   museum   communication.   London.   Museum,   Media,  
Message,  Routledge.  

Meijer,  Charlotte.  (2005)  New  Media,  New  Museums?.  Amsterdam.  University  of  Amsterdam.  

Parman, Alice. (February 2006) The Museum’s Community Role. Culture Work. Vol.10, no.1.

Caulton, Tim. (1998) Hands-on Exhibitions. London. Routledge.

Hooper-­‐Greenhill,  Eilean.  (1994)  The  educational  role  of  the  Museum.  London.  Routledge.  

Mäkinen, Erno. Patomäki, Saija. Raisamo, Roope. (2002) Experiences on a multimodal information kiosk
with an interactive agent. New York. ACM.

Luyten, Kris. Schroyen, Jolien. Robert, Karel. Gabriels, Kris. Teunkens, Daniel. Coninx, Karin. Flerackers,
Eddy. Manshoven, Elke. (2008) Collaborative Gaming in the Gallo-Roman Museum to Increase
Attractiveness of Learning Cultural Heritage for Youngsters. Belgium. Hasselt University.

Fisher, Jennifer. (2004) Speeches of Display: Museum Audioguides by Artists. In: Drobnick, Jim. Aural
Cultures. (2004) Canada. YYZ Books.

Pearson, Aria. Escape Old London's Most Feared Prison — Guided by GPS. Wired Magazine (San Fransisco).
15 November 2007.

Reid, Josephine. Clayton, Ben. Melamed, Tom. Hull, Richard. Stenton, Phil. Peirce, Aileen. Gidlow, Chris.
Holmes, Susan. (2007) The design of Prisoner Escape from the Tower : an interactive location aware
historical game [online] London. Tate's Handheld Conference. Available from:
http://tatehandheldconference.pbworks.com/f/DesigningPrisonersv3.doc

Sember, Robert. Spasojevic, Mirjana, (2002) The Electronic Guidebook: Using Portable Devices and A
Wireless Web-Based Network To Extend The Museum Experience. California. US Department of Education,
Educational Resources Information Center. April 2002.

Elliott, Amy-Mae. (2009) National Gallery launches "Love Art" iPhone app. [online] UK. Pocket-lint.
Available from: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/25193/national-gallery-love-art-iphone-app

Williams, Andrew. (2009) Love Art: The National Gallery review [online] London. Know Your Mobile.
Available from: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/25193/national-gallery-love-art-iphone-app

References
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/computing

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/media

http://searchsoa.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci213507,00.html

http://museummedia.nl/case-studies/case-study-7-moma-wifi/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_tour

Foteini Valeonti / Interactive Digital Media / ID:95461809 / f.valeonti@rave.ac.uk