Harnessing technology – Hands-on or hands-free?

As museums and galleries respond to the demands of a multi-media society, interactive displays have become an increasingly popular tool to draw in crowds. Simon Beer takes a look at the value of hands-on visitor attractions at Britain?s museums.
What is it that makes you visit a museum or gallery? Ask most people and it will generally be for one of two reasons: entertainment or education ? and hopefully for both. In this technological age, museums and galleries have a lot to compete with. There are now so many accessible sources of information and forms of instant entertainment that a trip to the local museum is very often turned down in favour of an encounter with Lara Croft.

Competing for time

21st century museums are constantly competing with the sophisticated presentation technologies now used daily in offices, classrooms and living rooms. The modern visitor wants an experience that is of immediate personal relevance and which has clearly identified benefits; but if it is not fast enough, or the benefits are not explicit, museums and galleries are at risk of losing out to the competition.

This poses a difficult challenge. Museum staff are now aware that, in order to encourage people away from other sources of information and entertainment, they need to offer visitors the opportunity to interact with the object itself. This has heralded the increase in hands-on exhibits in museums and galleries around the country. However, many curators still regard the idea of combining technology and history, with some caution. While hands-on exhibits may seem like the most obvious means of increasing visitor numbers, it is all too easy to get it wrong.

In a bid to create a dramatic exhibition with a significant impact on the visitor, it is possible to get carried away. For the visitor, there is nothing more frustrating than an interactive exhibit that is too complicated or physically difficult to operate, and it can have negative repercussions for the museum itself when frustrated visitors become heavy-handed, and sometimes just plain destructive, whilst trying to operate the display. It is important that instructions are written as clearly and concisely as possible. If they are too long, visitors won?t read to the end and will misuse the equipment; and if they are too complicated, younger audiences will not understand them and in turn, the visitor numbers and the exhibit itself will suffer. Another ?no-no? is a hands-on exhibit that requires visitors to interact with other people ? interacting with total strangers is not everyone?s idea of an enjoyable day out. Nevertheless, hands-on exhibits, if designed carefully and used wisely, have the potential to enhance any museum or gallery display, bringing objects and artefacts to life and communicating with a very wide audience.

Strikingly simple

One of the first issues to overcome is the perception of what an ?interactive? actually is. Curators will often think of computer-based interactives when hands-on exhibitions are mentioned, and although they do have an important part to play in a modern museum, they are not always the most appropriate medium to give the audience a memorable experience, or easy access to information. The best interactive displays should be simple and focused on a single issue. Depending on the subject matter, it could be mechanical, audio, video or computer-based. Mechanical interactive displays may not be the most sophisticated choice, but they can be used very effectively to explain simple principles of cause and effect.

Audio and video interactivity may be used in a variety of situations, offering an enhanced effect that can withstand being replayed over and over again for many years in instances where solid state equipment with no moving parts are used. This kind of subtle presentation can have a very dramatic effect, as anyone who has visited the Fleet Air Arm museum will agree. Here, audio and visual technology have been enhanced with smells, movement and lighting to create the simulation of a life-size Phantom Jet taking off just feet away from the visitors.

Another recent interactive display to hit the news is the London Science Museum?s Everest exhibition, where state-of-the-art interactive technology is teamed with the power of science, to allow visitors to experience for themselves, the freezing conditions of climbing Everest.

Potential pitfalls

Computer-based interactives do, of course, have their role, particularly where more in-depth information is required or where simple menus lead the visitor to the salient points about an exhibit. Given tight budgets, however, there is often a temptation to build a computer interactive in-house, based around high street hardware and using self-taught knowledge. Sadly, many museum visitors have read the same books – sometimes the advanced editions – and will therefore know how to use the museum?s interactive equipment as a terminal to destroy programs or databases. They will know how to connect to other Internet sites and even how to use the equipment to text friends. For this reason professional software designers should be considered to develop specific interactive programmes for museums that will run independently of any in-house networks. Similarly, professional equipment should be installed by hardware specialists in a manner that enhances long-term reliability and reduces the risk of potential accidental or malicious damage by visitors.

Hands-on exhibits are certainly a positive way for museums and galleries to compete with alternative forms of entertainment and information, but the key to success is moderation and simplicity of design. With some creative thinking it is possible to design an interactive display that does not detract from the exhibit itself, but allows the individual to interact with the products, enhancing their experience and increasing their learning potential. And the future? Individual communication, rather than mass communication, will be the key. By creating bespoke exhibitions designed for the individual, museums and galleries will be able to enhance an exhibit to match the needs of every visitor.

Simon Beer is MD for Integrated Circles, specialists in the creation of audio-visual systems and interactive displays. w: http://www.integrated-circles.co.uk