Family Time in Museums: Online or Unplugged? At the movie theater we see repeated messages about no texting or talking—what about museums? While some museums ban personal devices, others embrace them. What does research tell us about personal devices as they affect learning? What turns these devices on or off: visitors’ ages, educational levels, learning styles? How are museum educators approaching this contested area? A learning specialist, a museum educator, and a museum technologist present diverse viewpoints, leading to a lively moderated discussion. This presentation was given by Susan Edwards. Moderator: Alice Parman, Independent Interpretive Planner Presenters: Paul Gabriel, Educational Consultant/Educational Therapist, Independent Emily Hope Dobkin, Youth Programs Manager, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History Susan Edwards, Senior Writer/Editor, Web Group, J. Paul Getty Trust

1. An
In-Gallery
Mobile
Game
at the J. Paul Getty Museum
Susan Edwards
J. Paul Getty Trust
sedwards@getty.edu
@jolifanta

2. Mantra
Don’t build
a mobile app
just for the sake of it

3. How many of you have heard this?
“We need an app!”

4. How many of you have heard this?
“We need an app!”

5. Have Goals
Meet the needs of your visitors
Is technology the right tool?

6. GettyGames

7. Switch

10. Have Goals
Meet the needs of your visitors
Is technology the right tool?

11. Educational Objective:
Encourage families
to have fun
looking at art
together
in the galleries

12. Paper edition

13. The Goals
• Provide visit planning for families
• Un-facilitated
• Gameplay = 20-25 minutes
The tool chosen  Mobile web
(Pilot project)

14. Benefits
of Mobile Technology
•
•
•
•
Easily updated and edited
No printing costs (but development cost)
Any visitor with a smart phone can play
Provides interactivity

15. Challenges
of Mobile Technology
• Visitors don’t look at the exhibition
• Visitors don’t know the app exists
• Visitors don’t use it because it doesn’t work
for them

16. Opposing Fears
Visitors will ignore the exhibition
Visitors won’t play the game

17. Balance the experience of the game
with the experience of visiting the
museum.

18. Balance

19. Common Problems
with in-gallery mobile
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Visitors get lost
Visitors get frustrated
High rate of early drop-off
Visitors are head-down in their phones
We make it too complicated
We don’t provide added value
We don’t test and iterate enough

20. Don’t make any
assumptions!
Test everything!

21. Lessons for Success

22. Build looking into the app
Images: J. Paul Getty Museum

23. Understand your audience

24. Make it relevant to the museum experience

25. Give visitors ownership

26. Balance

27. “It was just what I was looking for –
something to increase my son’s
focus on the artworks during the
museum visit.”

28. Parent to child:
“Do you see something else next to
the teapot?”

29. “My brother usually hates our
regular museum visits.
This time, I saw him engaged for
the first time.”

30. The Experience
• High number of players finish the game
• Close looking observed in evaluation
• Gives families a place to start in the
museum
• Empowers parents to start conversation
about the art
• Young players feel ownership of the
museum and the artworks

31. Mantra
Don’t build
a mobile app
just for the sake of it

32. Mantra
Understand your audience

33. Susan Edwards
J. Paul Getty Trust
sedwards@getty.edu
@jolifanta