Digitalt dilemma

Museum visits have been an integral part of the Danish culture of leisure for more than a century. Objects representing the past have been displayed for the purpose of education and national and regional identity building. More recently, focus has shifted towards the goals of the experience economy, raising curiosity and excitement on behalf of the spectator. In fact the former spectator is now an active participant in modern museum curation, and in particular this has come by through the advent of the digital era.

Investigating the exhibition, Tro & Overtro at the Sæby Museum, this article explores the way in which a partly digital exhibition interacts with its audience. This interactive museum experience is investigated using interviews, document based analysis and participatory observation. Results reveal that the exhibit, over all had a strong appeal to schoolchildren, while the more mature museumgoers became somewhat alienated from the digital aspects of the exhibit.