Fun is Serious Work
Hiroshi Ishii of MIT Media Lab gave the 2019 Keynote for Museums and the Web. My reflections on his speech have been split into two blog posts (this week and next). The first is outward-facing and the second will be about our own work. — Hiroshi Ishii seems like fun. I spent an hour, an …
Setting the Stage for Great AR/ VR Projects
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are tantalizing prospects for museums. These technologies offer museums a chance to engage visitors differently, while at the same time appearing cutting-edge. In early September, the American Alliance of Museums and the Knight Foundation fostered a conversation about immersion. Museum professionals along with practitioners discussed AR, VR, and …
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The Game is Up: Game Design as Part of the Interpreter’s Tool Kit
Serious Games in Virginia is this week. Here is the gist of the ideas that I shared. Why Games? Games are about experience, interaction, and engagement with ideas while fueled by competition, camaraderie, and humor. Education has tried to capitalize on these elements in games as the ultimate form of constructivist learning. No other form …
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What Museums Can Learn from the Black Panther
Taken from the Marvel Comic Books, the Black Panther is a movie about a fictional African nation that cloaks its advanced civilization as a form of self-preservation. The king of the nation has superhuman strength thanks to serious sumptuary success. The Black Panther’s trail to bring a bad guy to justice starts some even worse …
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Instagram and the Evolution of Museums (Blog/ Graphic)
Museums might be said to be on the higher-end of the leisure world. They have cache. If not, imagine the situation associated with the phrase, “We are at the museum today.” Now imagine being in the situation to be able to say, “we are at an amusement park right now.” Both are perfectly enjoyable, no doubt. …
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Museums have a Problem with Fun (Data)
Museums need visitors. Anyone who flips through an annual report or glances on a website can attest to that fact. But, how do you get them there? You entice them, of course. But, how do you do that? I can share how I did that. When I used to run programs, I would try to …
How do you actually make a game?
Designing a game? Well, there are many ways to start, but, in essence, you want to think about some big issues: 1. What is your goal? What do you want your players to get out of it? What is your project goal? How does it relate to your game goal? 2. Where are you going …
Museum Games: Dishes Best Served to Order
The tinkling, jingling bells of the approaching ice cream truck awaken something in the soul of my oldest daughter. My other daughter squeals with delight at broccoli. Whatever floats your boat? Right? Recently, at AAM, there was a long discussion about if museum games can have spinach in the cookies? Similarly at the …
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