Everyone speaks of the “new normal” as something we must resign ourselves to in order to continue to function as a society. In some ways, this is accurate; we must wear masks to enter many public spaces, continue to social distance, etc., but it also gives us license to create the new normal by looking at the current situation as an opportunity to move forward through the use of advanced technology.

We all know that museums are constantly evolving and looking for new ways to engage visitors in unique stories.  As such, museums have morphed from a place where artifacts were primarily admired from afar, to a place where interaction is invited, encouraged, and sometimes necessary to embrace the full visitor experience.

So, what now?  How do we move forward during a time when many people are afraid to touch shared surfaces or get close to one another?

One of the answers is already in front of our eyes (or our pocket, or somewhere we can easily reach): our smartphones. By turning our personal mobile devices into a tool for interactive engagement with museum exhibits, we not only solve the issue of shared touch surfaces, but we rely on computing devices that are not only readily available, but that someone else paid for.

Many museums are already doing this to some extent. The museum app, for example, allows personalized and customizable communication with your visitors. Taking this a step further, museum apps that have an exhibit component, such as Augmented Reality (AR) experiences, allow for deeper engagement between visitors and exhibits.

This type of exhibit enhancement can bring exhibits to life in 3D, bring virtual tour guides into your exhibit halls, and they can be valuable learning tools for students. 

For instance, a natural history museum can feature an AR app that enables dinosaur skeletons to grow skin before their visitors’ eyes and then walk around the exhibit hall in 3D.  It could also transform the exhibit hall into the natural environment the dinosaur lived in so visitors can see what the landscape looked like.

Taking this a step further, the museum could offer a scavenger hunt for students that allows kids to learn about the dinosaurs (through audio, text, or a virtual scientist), search for the appropriate bones of the dinosaur in the exhibit, and once the bones are located, they can see what the dinosaur looked and acted like.  They can then “take the dinosaur home” by capturing it for their personal collection and then recall the dinosaur at home through the app and “place” it in their house.

In much the same way, a rural maritime museum that features a collection of historic fishing boats, could offer an AR experience to enhance their collection. The AR app could allow visitors to hold their phone up to the remains of a historic boat and see what it looked like in its glory days.

AR experiences do not require physical space in exhibit halls and can be easily updated without disruption to your galleries.  They are a great way to keep exhibits fresh, without the cost and expense of physical build-outs.

It is also possible to provide some AR experiences through the phone’s browser, thereby eliminating the need for installation of a dedicated app.

Another answer is hand gesture/tracking technology.  This technology allows visitors to interact with screens and make selections by simply moving their hands and fingers naturally in front of a screen rather than touching it.  Exhibits featuring hand tracking may eventually replace touch screens all together.

The next level of hand tracking technology (which is available today), allows visitors to manipulate virtual objects (such as 3D artifact models).  This interaction does not require controllers or wearables and has virtually no latency, making it a safe and satisfying user experience.

For example, an art museum can use hand tracking technology to enable visitors to create their own work of art.  Visitors can walk up to an easel, select a paint brush, paint colors, and paint their own masterpiece on a virtual canvas. 

They could also interact with tabletop holograms to examine sculptures and sensitive textiles from all angles by using their hands as tools for manipulating the virtual objects.

A big plus to implementing “no touch” technology, is the ease of maintenance.  With exhibits that don’t require physical contact, the need for constant sanitation and upkeep is eliminated. In addition, the exhibits, although interactive, do not require oversight and intervention by museum staff.

What will museums look like in one, three or five years? That’s up to all of us. However, in the long run those who are sensitive to the needs and comfort levels of visitors, but still provide an immersive and engaging experience, are most likely to thrive in and shape our “new normal.”