Museums in the Digital Age

Photo: Victoria Pickering

1. Museums are places.

Photo: art around

2. Museums collect and display objects.

Photo: Orbital Joe

3. Museums educate the public.

Photo: European Council President

—John Cotton DanaThe New Museum, no. 1 (1917)

The worth of a museum

is in its use.

How is the use (and usefulness)of museums impacted in the digital age?

Photo: Aaron Garza

1. Museums are places.

Photo: Brett Davis

Visitors come to museum places.

Photo: Olli Thomson

Visitors come through the Web.

Photo: Design Museum

Visitors come to explore.

Photo: CPNAS

Visitors visit virtually.

Photo: Google Art Project

Visitors visit via robots.

Photo: Seattle Art Museum

Museums are places.

Museums are everywhere.

Museums are places.

Museums are everywhere.

Visitors are everywhere.

2. Museums collect and display objects.

Photo: NCinDC

Museums collect ideas and intangibles.

Photo: takomabibelot

Museums collect ideas and intangibles.

Museums collect ideas and intangibles.

Museum visitors view objects.

Photo: Karen Neoh

Museum visitors make objects.

Photo: Hirshhorn ArtLab+

Museum makers hack objects.

Photo: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Objects are unique, physical things.

Photo: National Museum of American History

Objects are 3D data that can be printed by anyone.

Objects can be skeletons.

Photo: National Museum of Natural History

Digital objects can be much more than skeletons.

Photo: National Museum of Natural History

3. Museums educate the public.

Photo: National Museum of Natural History

The public also educates the public.

People educate museums.

People access museum data.

People visualize museum data.

Image: Florian Krautli

People use museum data.

People add their data to museums.

People collaborate and learn together with museums.

Jones-Garmil, K. (1997).” Laying the foundation: Three decades of computer technology in the museum.” In K. Jones-Garmil (Ed.), The wired museum (pp. 35-62). Washington, D.C.: American Association of Museums.

How is the use (and usefulness)of museums impacted in the digital age?

Photo: Tom Atkian

1. as places/spaces?2. as object repositories?3. as educational institutions?