Museums: to educate or to entertain?

In its early years, museums were mostly considered as intellectual institutions that preserve and collect objects for public education. Even after the democratization and popularization of museums, informing and educating visitors remained their key focus. Labels, brochures and lectures with educational content became regular features in the institutions. Today, people can find everything about anything online with just one simple search.

Does this mean museums are doomed? Most certainly not, on the contrary! Barco talked with four museum panelists about all the reasons why the museum visit stands out from and is even superior to online experiences.

Museums vs. Wikipedia

Curated experience

You can find everything about anything online, but it can also be posted by anyone. There’s no filter. Online disinformation, fake news and hoaxes lurk around every digital corner. “The museum visit is a curated experience,” says Dorothy Di Stefano, founder of Molten Immersive Art, “you’re not just scrolling and drowning in content.” It’s a readymade experience that offers you all the relevant information in a clear format, versus the abundance of online information where you still have to clear out all the noise.

Nothing beats the real thing

“There’s no comparison between looking at the image of an iconic object and standing next to it,” adds Dave Patten who runs the New Media department at the Science Museum in London. You can read about mammoths and about how gigantic they must’ve been, but it’s not the same as walking in a museum and look up to the ginormous tusks and the real bones of the prehistoric colossus. “It’s still a special thing to be in proximity of things. That’s not changing. On the contrary, people want to engage even more with the physical and tangible things, because already so much of our lives is spend in front of screen and online.”

Museum experience as leisure activity

Additionally, museums used to be perceived as prestigious knowledge centers, but that’s no longer the case. They are tourist attractions and places for leisure activities. “Most people don’t come to museums wanting to find out about a particular thing. They come because they want an entertaining day out,” confirms Patten. You don’t call your friends to join you on a visit to the Museum of Modern Art because you want to learn about Vincent van Gogh’s specific brush stroke techniques. (Unless you’re an art student writing a thesis on the Dutch artist or painter yourself trying to perfect your style – but still most of us don’t.) You want to enjoy the company of your friends, share the experience and create memories together. And if you learn something new about the post-impressionist art movement along the way, that’s a plus. “The web is not at all good at replicating those intimate social experiences.”

Edutainment in museums

So what’s the goal then for museums: to educate or to entertain?

As with so many things, there’s no black or white answer. Dorothy Di Stefano notes, as also firmly confirmed by the other panelists, “you can’t separate the two: entertainment is crucial to the education process.” It’s called edutainment: learn/teach something new through a fun experience.

Entertainment brings a level of engagement that motivates learning and stimulates retention. The release of dopamine and endorphins in the brains during enjoyable experiences trigger positive associations and stimulate long-term memories.

To realize this dual mission, museums increasingly rely on the integration of new storytelling techniques and technologies to immerse and engage audiences. Hilary McVicker works for The Elumenati which is specialized in incorporating innovative technology to create transformative educational experiences in museum exhibitions. Her roots lie in the game industry and she sees “a lot of potential in bringing the interactive technologies from that industry to new applications like museums. Gamification and interactivity can be beneficial for museums and really transform the engagement levels.”