Reading 6 - Amy Ni
From all the principles and tips mentioned in the The Experience Economy, it is clear that any experience should be holistic and engaging. When applied to museums, this probably demands them to be much more careful about that exhibits they wish to show and how they wish to present them, for they are simply a part of what makes the visit an engaging experience. I particularly agree that museums in the modern age should include multidimentional design. The focus of most exhibits are viewing the objects and their descriptions, but including different senses or allowing someway for visitors to connect and participate with the exhibits can be very beneficial. One example that I found worth investigating is the MIT museum exhibit with the moving machines, specifically the wooden whale. The moving machinary is accompained by sound and even wind, activating more senses that made me felt closer to the exhibit. Even the small act of having to stand in front of them for them to activate also made the viewing experience more active.
In First-Time and Repeat Visitors, It was interesting to see that from the visitor’s perspective, the museum experience is largely shaped by the environment around them instead of the actual artifacts. Even for people who have visited the museum already, this could affect whether they would want to have the same experience again despite having already seen the exhibits. It also mentioned that most museum visitors go in groups instead of alone, and I wonder if there is a way to highlight or enhance this social aspect of museums. Typically, other museum visitors tend to create annoyances especially when a museum is famous and crowded, then is there a way that exhibits can encourage interactions between strangers either through group activities/participations or other more subtle means.