Project Idea 1: Pop up Museums

A description of the issue/problem that you are trying to address：

As we read in this week’s readings, museums sometimes encounter difficulty attracting visitors from diverse communities other than local residents. In order for people from far away also have the opportunity to experience distant museums in person, we could create some easily transportable exhibits that can be displayed in different locations in order to reach a broader spectrum of audiences. The pop up museums should be able to be easily assembled and disassembled using lightweight and reusable materials so that they could easily be transported to different locations.

The envisioned audience for your project:

This project is intentionally to target the typically underrepresented demographic groups among museum visitors, especially people constrained by distance or physical inconvenience.

Potential museum collaborators:

For example, the Museum of Ice Cream that started in New York and has expanded to several other cities worldwide. Also, other such currently existing pop up museums like The Art of Banksy, which is a traveling pop up museum featuring a collection of works by a street artist called Banksy. This pop up museum has also already visited several cities, like Miami, Toronto, and Paris. There are other similar exhibitions we can take inspiration from and consult for advice, such as TeamLab, which allows visitors to interact with colors and lights, and it has attained significant attention and success globally.

Technological/spatial/installation approach (if part of the project):

Since pop up museums usually have only a subset of the whole collection and tend to be limited in space, it is thus more important to make it sufficiently engaging and appealing for the visitors. Because of the limited space, many information about the artworks can instead be put into a mobile app in order to save space. For example, the app could give visitors additional context of the works, some audio tapes about the stories of the artworks and even hear from the creators themselves, and augmented reality features. Modular and reusable set designs would help make the museums easier to assemble and disassemble for transport. We can explore what set of materials best serve this purpose, and we can create walls and displays using interlocking panels for instance. Projection mapping technology can also be used to make the exhibition more immersive for the visitors. Projection can be used to transform surfaces into interactive displays, playing animation and videos to make the entire environment more dynamic. Interactive soundscape can also help to better engage the visitors sensually. The soundscape can be made to specifically fit the theme of the exhibition and recreate a realistic setting, such as an ancient city.

Skill sets needed for your project: The project needs skills related to design, designing the spatial structure of the pop up museum and ways of effectively using the space. The project also needs knowledge regarding material science, deciding upon the materials to be used to facilitate transportation of pop up museums. Also, the project requires some AR/VR knowledge to create immersive settings. The project also needs some UI/UX design experience to create mobile apps.

Project Idea 2: Making Museums More Accessible for People with Disabilities

A description of the issue/problem that you are trying to address：

Museums often lack accessibility for people with disabilities, which can prevent them from fully enjoying the experience. Some common issues might include limited wheelchair access, inaccessible displays, and a lack of sensory experience for those with visual or hearing impairments. So this project can help address these issues to make museums more convenient for people with disabilities.

The envisioned audience for your project:

This project intends to help people with disabilities, including those with mobility issues, visual and hearing impairments, and also cognitive disabilities.

Potential museum collaborators:

We can consult with curators of museums that are currently dedicated to improving accessibility for people with disabilities, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Technological/spatial/installation approach (if part of the project):

We can think about alternative ways of organizing the space in order to make the exhibits and facilities more accessible for people with disabilities. For instance, there could be places with sign language and tactile features. We can have an app with audio guides to provide more description information to people who have visual problems. These audio guides can also be changed to transcripts or sign language for deaf people and those with hearing issues. The museum can also include more sensory experiences, such as touch tours and scent stations.

Skill sets needed for your project:

knowledge about design in order to make the spaces more convenient for people with disabilities app design experience to create supportive tools AR/VR experience to make the sensory experience for visitors more complete.