Prototyping in the Power Hall

Buckingham, Christina

Abstract

Article Short Description: Investigating an audience-driven strategy for interactive interpretation prototyping in a science museum setting at the discovery phase of exhibition development. Abstract Interactive gallery interpretation is seen as a valuable tool for engaging families with the subject of science and engineering. It can offer many opportunities for creating active learning experiences and can help stimulate visitor interest and motivation (Falk et al., 2004). However, with such an abundance of technologies and techniques to choose from, it can be challenging for exhibition teams to decipher which interactive interpretation approach will deliver the most impactful results for their future visitors. The practice research outlined in this study identified that there was currently no defined method to compare the success of one proposed interactive interpretation approach to another from the perspective of both family and science engagement, despite these two elements being essential components in the design thinking process. This paper presents an innovative approach to interactive interpretation decision-making at the discovery stage of exhibition planning. It trials a process of evaluating and comparing multiple high-fidelity prototypes developed to answer the same interpretation problem through family discourse and a science capital-informed coding method. Science capital is a concept that describes a person's science-related knowledge, attitudes, contacts and experiences, which can be accumulated over time (Archer et al., 2015). The author labels the investigated evaluation phase as 'proto

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 27, 2025
• Deposit Date: Mar 18, 2025
• Print ISSN: 2054-5770
• Publisher: Science Museum Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Visitor engagement; science capital; evaluation; interactive interpretation; informal learning; prototyping; discourse analysis; engagement