The principal aims and objectives of the project were:-

i. to generate a body of empirical findings, observations and conceptual distinctions concerning the social organisation of action and interaction that arises with and around novel exhibits and exhibition formats in science museums and centres. To delineate the relationship between the character and organisation of these activities and the communication and learning agendas associated with the exhibits and exhibition formats by the designers and museum personnel (including educationalists);

ii.  to provide observations, findings and insights into the process of the design and development of exhibits and exhibitions and in particular the ways in which assumptions, ideas and theories concerning communication and learning are progressively entailed and fashioned within exhibits and exhibitions. To illuminate and analyse how these assumptions, ideas and theories are reflected, if at all, in the ways in which visitors respond to, and interact, with and around the actual exhibits and participate with interactive performances;

iii. to produce recommendations, design sensitivities and if possible guidelines for designers, curators, museum managers and producers of educational performances that can inform the development of novel science exhibits and exhibition formats in particular those concerned with enhancing collaboration and co-participation as well as discussion and debate amongst visitors;

iv. to develop practically focused video-based field methods for educationalists, designers and museum managers and social scientists to support the analysis and evaluation of conduct and interaction with and around novel exhibits and exhibition in science centres and museums.

The aims and objectives of the project were addressed by the following three strands of research: 

   (i.) ethnographic, video-based studies of visitors’ conduct and interaction in science centres and museums,

   (ii.) ethnographic studies of the design, development and deployment of science exhibits and exhibitions, and

   (iii.) contributing to the design and evaluation of new and novel science exhibits deployed to enhance participation with and sense making of science centres and museums.

The project has made an important contribution to research in a number of disciplines, including sociology, museum studies and visitor research, the educational and learning sciences and Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). It examines the design, use and experience novel exhibits in science centres and museums. The most significant achievements of the project include:

  • delineating the forms of interaction and interactivity that arise within novel exhibitions and the ways in which people encounter, discover and engage exhibits in concert and collaboration with others; 

  • explicating the concepts and ideas of the visitor, user, and participant that inform the design of, and are presupposed by, various forms of ’interactive’ exhibit, and illuminating the ways in which these ‘models’ of the visitor may fail to resonate with the socially organised and contingent, interactional character of the museum visit and the ways in which people’s actions and activities arise though co-participation and collaboration;

  • developing and demonstrating the ways in which video based studies of conduct and interaction in museums and galleries, in particular analysis informed by ethnomethodology and conversation analysis, can enrich our understanding of ‘visitor behaviour’ and the we believe the design, development and deployment of novel exhibits and exhibitions.

The project has involved close collaboration with exhibit and exhibition designers, museum curators, educationalists and managers, and those involved in more practical studies of visitor behaviour and exhibition evaluation. This collaboration has included regular meetings with museum personnel and designers to discuss our research and its potential implications. It has also included more practical engagement, including for example - working with design teams on the development of prototypes of novel interpretation resources (video-labels) at the Science Museum in London, and participating in the design teams involved in the creation of new museum spaces and interactive exhibition areas, for example at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry; Minnesota Science Museum. We also have held a series of international colloquia where practitioners and academics have met to discuss issues and concerns about the design, development and deployment of novel exhibits and exhibitions in science centres and museums. These various forms of collaboration and engagement have provided important resources both in developing and focussing our research and analytic interests and in presenting our work to both academic audiences and practitioners.