Technology in MIT Museum
Technology is integrated into the MIT Museum smoothly. Its presence generally does not feel superfluous and supplements the artifacts well. One point that came up last class is how a museum might be designed to actually slow down the pace of visitor experience, which is something that the MIT Museum seems to take into consideration. Most of the technology in the museum encourages active learning, like typing one’s own ideas into a machine before receiving its input or speaking to a robot to see it move. These design choices keep visitors engaged and creative while interacting with the technology. This was evident even in less obvious design details like in the exhibit on deep fakes that features a large screen displaying videos on how deep fakes are created. The videos are notably divided into shorter segments, each around a minute or so long, that the visitor must click through to start watching. The videos themselves overlay recordings of the original presenters with graphic design and eye-catching visual effects, keeping the viewer entertained. Not only does technology enhance visitor experience, in some exhibits like ones on robots and AI, technology itself is the artifact in this museum.