Den levende oplevelse - oplevelsesbaseret læring i en museumskontekst

Abstract

The goal of the project is to discover a way for museums to communicate while having focus on both experience and learning. The project tries to contribute to the field between Experience Design, learning and museum communication which are fields that relate to each other but do not consider the actual execution of an experience based learning design. To answer our research question, we will use a case study. The case study is focused on Stenaldercenter Ertebølle with whom we will collaborate to develop a concept for a new exhibition at the museum. The concept is based on our theoretical work and idea development through co-creation and will focus on body-on experiences and learning. Even though we are working with a case study, the project will have a theoretical focus on learning through experiences in historic museums in general. We are applying a phenomenological approach in the project which presents itself in the way we approach the users in order to understand their experiences of the current museum and their wishes for the museums of the future. As designers we take on an expert approach where we study the needs and ideas of the user, and we then design the actual concept. The three fields, Experience Design, learning and museum communication, are elaborated theoretically in the project where we will relate the fields to each other. The first studies of the museum are made with students from the 4th and 5th grade. Their descriptions of the exhibition are focused on animals and stones and completely leave out the human aspect. The informants do not connect the stones and animals to a larger Stone Age narrative which indicates that they only regard these as artefacts and do not reflect further on this. A combination of a quantitative survey with factual questions and a qualitative interview helps us gain an insight into the knowledge and the thoughts of the informants. On the basis of the theory and our studies we arrive at ten criteria which are valid for our concept: 1. The exhibition must tell one consecutive story 2. The exhibition must have clear focus points 3. The exhibition must have simplicity 4. The exhibition must encourage reflection 5. The exhibition must encourage conversation 6. Objects must have a meaning in relation to the exhibition 7. The exhibition must have recognizable structures 8. Experience points must create excitement 9. The exhibition must activate senses and body 10. The exhibition must invite the visitors to play The development of the new exhibition takes place on a conceptual level, thus the evaluation of this will be done via low-fidelity prototyping. On the basis of the evaluation of the concept, we will conclude on our research question. In the concept we focus on stimulating all senses and activating the entire body. The focus is on the story as a whole where humans and everyday life is in focus. We try to make surprising elements along the way while at the same time sticking to a more classic museum structure where the visitor feels safe and knows what to expect. Artefacts will be placed in a context that makes sense. The evaluation process with the students clearly shows that the students learn more. This is evident in the survey where the number of correct answers increases by 19,8%, and through a qualitative discussion where the students express a higher level of reflection. They indicate that they learn more by being involved in the exhibition, that the storytelling makes it more interesting and that they understand things better when they experience them on their own bodies. We can hereby conclude that Experience Design, where body and senses are stimulated can enhance the learning in historic museums.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Den levende oplevelse - oplevelsesbaseret læring i en museumskontekst