CONFERENCE REVIEW
ECSITE P
erhaps it’s an ironic twist that the theme for this year’s Ecsite con- ference, Exploring Risk, was held
at the German Occupational Safety and Health Exhibition or DASA. DASA’s mission is to examine our relationship with work and the workplace with a focus on health, physical and mental, as well as spiritual well-being. As technology is transforming traditional safe mediums such as adver- tising, newspapers, television, magazines and books, what risks will institutions such as science centres and museums have to take to remain relevant to the rapidly grow- ing generation of digital natives? My focus for the conference was emerg- ing digital trends in museums and I hosted a session dealing with this topic. Instead of presenting information, I facilitated a dialogue between the presenters and the audience. Rather than saving questions for the end of the session, we made questions from the audience the entire session. In the session we discussed three areas.
First was how digital technologies are reshaping the physical museum expe- rience. Second was to examine virtual museum spaces and the use of technology to create overlay experiences using mobile devices and augmented reality. Thirdly we looked at the social dimension of these trends through social networking, user- generated content and blogging.
SPATIAL MEDIA We also talked about ‘spatial media’. This is the idea of linking specifi c media to spe-
This June’s Ecsite conference boasted 800 delegates, 75 sessions and 43 exhibitors. BRC’s Mark Hayward talks about his session on spatial media and how dialog is a better information tool than presentation
In keeping with the risk theme, delegates were encouraged to abandon their comfort zones
cifi c spaces or architecture. It can take the form of large-scale projected media that replaces traditional printed exhibit graph- ics or the use of location triggered media on mobile devices. The use of spatial media opens up a world of possibilities for updating content and incorporating user- generated media into exhibit experience. However, the creation and management of this type of media requires rethinking of staffi ng, budgeting and content ownership. Digital technology was a topic discussed
in other sessions as well. A session entitled From Audioguides to Smartphones looked at current trends and projects utilising mobile content. One key idea discussed was the use of smartphones verses the use of simpler technologies such as texting or simply posting phones numbers in exhi- bitions that link to recorded audio content.
Sessions were selected to cover all the main trends in the science centre industry
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OVERVIEW Overall the conference seemed quite suc- cessful. As is usually the case, the best exchanges of ideas and information came
Read Attractions Management online
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not from the sessions, but from the small conversations with attendees over coffee, lunch or excellent German beer. I wonder how the powerful transfor- mations occurring in communications, publishing, education and entertainment will impact the format of conferences. Gathering hundreds of attendees globally to present information feels outdated. I hope in future more emphasis is placed on dialogue and exchanging information before, during and after conferences. ●
Mark Hayward, creative director, educational experiences, BRC Imagination Arts
ECSITE 2011 Next year’s conference will be held at the Copernicus science centre in Warsaw, Poland May 26-28 2011. The topic will be free- dom.
www.ecsite.eu
AM 3 2010 ©cybertrek 2010
© ANDREAS WAHLBRINK
© ANDREAS WAHLBRINK
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