The Objects of Experience: Transforming Visitor-Object Encounters in Museums

by Elizabeth Wood, Kiersten F Latham

What if museums could harness the emotional and intellectual connections people have to personal and everyday objects to create richer visitor experiences? In this book, Elizabeth Wood and Kiersten Latham present the Object Knowledge Framework, a tool for using objects to connect museum visitors to themselves, to others, and to their world. They discuss the key concepts underpinning our lived experience of objects and how museums can learn from them. Then they walk readers through concrete methods for transforming visitor-object experiences, including exercises and strategies for teams developing exhibit themes, messages, and content, and participatory experiences.

Genres: Museums

176 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2013

Reviews

[Zhang Ruonan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an example research in the materialism turn emphasizing human-object relationship and encounters, and puts forward the concept of the Object Knowledge Framework, consisting of the objectworld, the lifeworld and the united experience three dimensions. The objectworld and the lifeworld consist of individual, group and material elements. In the third part, the author also gives some suggestions on how to make the framework transfer into museum practice.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many objects to explore and so many ways to interpret them. Guidelines for an approach to foster visitor interpretations and a means to corral the many ideas and outcomes.

[Mills College Library]

069.5 W8748 2014