Before the vast majority of the world’s museums and attractions were forced to temporarily close due the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting a museum was often an interactive, tactile, and social experience, involving many person-to-person interactions. From exchanges at the admissions and membership desks, interactions with fellow patrons, and special experiences involving touch screens or hands-on activities, the visitor experience has historically been filled with physical touchpoints. Now, as museums prepare to reopen in an era of social distancing, many are imagining a “contactless” future.
Last Wednesday, over 4,400 people joined Brendan Ciecko (CEO and Founder @ Cuseum), Atiba Edwards (Executive VP & COO @ Brooklyn Children’s Museum), Andrea Montiel de Shuman (Digital Experience Designer @ Detroit Institute of Arts), & Don Undeen (Former Senior Manager of MediaLab @ Metropolitan Museum of Art) as they explored the evolving “visitor experience” and what the “contactless” future may hold. This webinar examined the merits of digital media, emerging technologies, and more!
Here, you can also view and add to the Coronavirus Preparedness Community Document. This is a living document for organizations to share their best practices.
Watch the full recording here.
Here are a few of the biggest takeaways from the conversation.
Take Inspiration from Other Industries
As organizations seek to adapt, it can be fruitful to seek inspiration and advice from other industries facing similar challenges. For example, businesses across the hospitality industry have already implemented new models to prioritize safety in their reopening, which museums and cultural organizations may look to for suggestions in their own spaces. This is also a crucial time for institutions to go above and beyond for the visitors to feel delighted and comfortable to be there, and this is one of the best lessons to learn from the hospitality industry! Your visitors aren’t just visitors, they are your guests.
Looking to other industries, movie theaters in South Korea have implemented AI robots and automated kiosks to eliminate health risks around purchasing tickets at a front desk. Hotel chains around the world have been introducing mobile check-in for completely contactless check-in. But overall, going above and beyond for your visitors is one fixture of the hospitality industry that museums may benefit from greatly!
Atiba Edwards, Executive VP & COO @ Brooklyn Children’s Museum, also suggested looking to the food-service industry when considering other industries to learn from. In food service, all staff have to be prepared and it is their responsibility to communicate to customers their commitment to safety.
Finally, both hospitality and food service staff are expertly trained in de-escalating situations. As museums prepare to reopen in a time of uncertainty, knowing how to de-escalate will be an essential skill.
Look into Multi-Modal Experiences
With new restrictions in tactile experiences, organizations are looking into how they can engage the community with other senses than touch. This might involve a range of non-tactile offerings including voice-activated, sound, BYOD (bring your own device) mobile experiences, and gesture-enabled interactives and kiosks. Don Undeen, formerly Senior Manager of the Media Lab at from the Metropolitan Museum of Art mentioned that organizations may look into a range of technologies because every experience will exclude a degree of people.
“Voice, facial tracking, touch with feet and body positions, gesture positions. There are lots of ways to ascertain where people are at.”
– Don Undeen
Atiba Edwards mentioned that sound is a great sense that often gets overlooked in design.
“We have 30,000 objects in our collection, how do we use sound to tell a story that overcomes the barriers of the written word? When we put things into sound, it doesn’t accomplish everything, but it allows for a shared experience.”
– Atiba Edwards
Especially at a time where your organization may be closed, it would also be a great time to reflect and think about the audiences you serve and the variety of experiences that you can offer when reopening.
“Some of the great aspects of this is making sure you are lifting the voices of your community and the quality of your content.”
– Andrea Montiel de Shuman
Through a variety of multi-modal experiences and tools, they can be great ways to enhance the visitor experience where physical experiences may be limited.
Adjust the Visitor Journey to Today's Constraints
Given the constraints that the current climate and new social distancing guidelines have imposed, institutions may want to start thinking creatively on how they can adjust the visitor experience accordingly. While planning for reopening, many museums have indicated their plans to move towards timed ticketing and restrict tactile experiences.
That being said, Atiba shared his concern for his museum, where for children, the hands-on experience is something that cannot be replaced. To solve this, Atiba and the team at Brooklyn Children’s Museum have turned their attention to creating guided, linear experiences that limit capacity in areas that involve hands-on experiences. This would create timely procedures for staff to sanitize all of the equipment between uses and would ensure safety without taking away the tactile experience.
He acknowledged that due to the circumstances, they would have to shift from free exploration to a more structured, guided visitor journey which “allows them to open in a way that is realistic and feasible.”
Invest in Staff Training
In planning for reopening, many organizations are rethinking many aspects of the visitor experience. One of the most important elements to ensuring a positive visitor journey (which is sometimes overlooked!) is extensive staff training. When reopening, ensure that your staff is united and on the same page for safety protocols.
It is vital for staff to be able to feel comfortable carrying out any of the safety precautions and also be able to answer visitors’ questions on how the organization is safe for them. This is particularly important for visitor facing staff of all kinds, including visitor services associates, front desk staff, and anyone working in food service or restaurants within your museum.
Atiba mentioned that he will be training his team for at least 2 to 3 weeks to ensure his staff are prepared. He also suggested having cross functional teams that understand all the procedures, even outside of their own department.
Accept that Everything Might Not Go To Plan
While planning, it is essential to think of the variety of scenarios that may occur while reopening. Through all of this, it is important to keep in mind that the actual procedures may not go according to plan. Due to the changing climate and the uncertain environment around safety, it is impossible to tell how successful reopening plans may be. Therefore, organizations, while preparing for the different situations that may occur, should also remember to stay flexible and nimble in their strategies.
In preparing for new “contactless experiences,” organizations can start to prepare for a more guided experience that will prioritize safety and comfort of the visitors. Through finding creative alternatives from other industries in hospitality or other multi-modal experiences, they can eliminate the abundant physical touchpoints.
Looking for more information? Check out our Coronavirus Resources page.
Further Reading:
5 Things to Keep in Mind as You Prepare to Reopen your Museum
How Museums & Attractions Are Increasing Safety And Convenience With “Contactless” Experiences
How Mobile Apps Can Help With Social Distancing And Safety For Your Museum’s Reopening
Tips & Strategies For Reopening Museums After COVID-19 Closures
How Museums Are Leveraging Their Mobile Apps During COVID-19
How Museums Are Leveraging Digital Membership During COVID-19