Museum 4.0
How museums are already thinking about tomorrow
How do you curate a virtual tour? How do you bring the museum into the classroom? How much supervision is required for virtual reality stations? What challenges and costs does the 3D digitisation of technical exhibits entail? These and other questions were explored by 50 visitors in workshops, keynote speeches and live demonstrations at the "museum4punkt0" conference at the Berlin Kulturforum in May 2023. Art, archaeology, local history, technology, natural history and history museums from all over Germany took part. The wide range of technical approaches from the online presentation of large object collections to augmented reality and virtual reality applications through to 3D printing were presented. The focus was on the question of where real added value could be expected for the public. In the follow-up to the conference, it is crucial to maintain and expand the network and to stabilise promising formats. There were many practical examples of the sense and benefits of new mediation formats, and the following selection was presented by the Museumsjournal in its 3/2023 issue:
Museum für Hamburgische Geschichte
On the trail of the vanished city
How can the special features of the museum building from 1922 be presented in an exciting and informative way? What do the historical architectural fragments on the museum tell us about a city that has long since disappeared? They come from destroyed houses and have been incorporated into the museum's facades as so-called spolia. With the app developed as part of the project, users can experience the fragments in an impressive way using 3D and augmented reality technology. The app connects the city and the museum and links one hundred spolia with historical images of forty buildings. A city map shows the original locations of the lost architecture and invites users to take a tour. A playful approach is also offered: In a Mystery Quest, various puzzles have to be solved to uncover a secret of the past.
Deutsches Auswandererhaus Bremerhaven
Digital paths through life
How can historical and emotional aspects of migration be communicated digitally? Following a virtual reality exhibition experiment, the Deutsches Auswandererhaus has developed a biography portal in which users can digitally link collection items and history and contribute their own life stories. In another project, visitors are invited to critically analyse subjective perspectives at five stations during their visit to the museum. A participatory "young digital collection" is also being created: the web platform, which is being generated and curated together with schoolchildren, documents aspects of identity and social diversity in a migration society characterised by digitalisation and diversity.
Archäologisches Museum Brandenburg
Discover the history of Brandenburg
With the "Archäoskop", the Archäologisches Landesmuseum Brandenburg offers an impressive multimedia journey through the natural and cultural history of the state - from the Stone Age to industrialisation. The immersive installation uses mapping beamers, audio surround sound and large-format projection surfaces to present exemplary natural and cultural landscape sequences for the various eras through morphing photo, video and sound collages. The presence of people is indirectly indicated by sounds and shadows. The project offers a low-barrier, easy-access educational approach for various target groups and is designed for the long term. Experiences are shared and the basic idea can be transferred to other themes and regions in Germany.
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Experience cultural competence online
Explore, learn, support: An important focus of the museum4punkt0 sub-project of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin was the expansion of the online collections as a multi-experience platform. The aim was to enable a broad, diverse audience to engage with the museum objects and content on an individual basis. User participation was a key requirement when designing the three modules of research, themes and tours. As an important component of contemporary museum work, it runs like a common thread through the entire project. The new, inclusive digital showcase into the cosmos of the 19 collections and institutes enables the conception and publication of a wide range of digital offerings designed to complement and deepen the museum experience.
Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz / Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz
Understand and preserve
Discover biodiversity in the forest and in the collections: In collaboration with the designers from Hapto, the Naturhistorisches Museum Mainz and the Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz have developed an interactive educational station: 33 samples (insect, feather or leaf) of various forest creatures moulded in synthetic resin can be read using RFID technology and examined on the touchscreen using high-resolution images. They can be digitally compared with the collection material so that different biological characteristics can be recognised. Supposedly identical organisms therefore turn out to be similar but different species on closer inspection. Information on the different species and the number of species of native organism groups deepens understanding. The exhibition also explains how living organisms are stored and organised in biological collections. This motivates visitors to take a closer look the next time they visit the forest. You can dive even deeper into life on the forest floor with the VR application developed by the Senckenberg Museum. You shrink down to the size of an isopod and can then see the large crawling creatures eye to eye. Some creatures can even be picked up and studied from all sides.