A Creative Technologist’s Reaction to the AAM’s Future of Museums Summit
An Inspiring Event Hosted by the AAM Center For Museums
The AAM’s Future of Museums summit was a two-day virtual event discussing the challenges and opportunities facing museums today. Through the virtual platform Airmeet, museum and industry professionals converged to address the needs of the museum industry. Over the event, we explored a range of topics, including Climate Change, Museum Culture, Cultural Wars, and Artificial Intelligence. Two themes stood out across all the talks I attended: the need to attract younger audiences and the desire to embrace technology. Let’s dive into some key takeaways from my perspective as a daily user of emerging technologies and the ways museums can make impactful changes on these fronts.
How do Museums Connect with their Visitors?
Firstly, there's a pressing need to connect with audiences both inside and outside the museum through social media and other outlets, ensuring engagement continues even when visitors aren’t physically present. This continuous engagement can inspire a return to your institution and help fulfill your mission. Social media, websites, and other digital tools were frequently mentioned as ways to engage younger audiences. As one of the presenters, Sree Sreenivasan, noted during his talk “AI & Museums: Beyond the Hype”, the scarcest resource of the 21st Century is human attention. Museums need to grab it and hold onto it.
Snapchat's Audience
One platform that offers a massive opportunity to connect with younger audiences is Snapchat. According to eMarketer, 85% of Snapchat's 850 million monthly active users are Gen Z and Millennials, surpassing even TikTok. But what should museums create on Snapchat? Snapchat thrives on short-form video content and augmented reality (AR). AR is a staple of the platform. We at Optic Sky have partnered with multiple museums on projects aimed at augmenting existing infrastructure and raising awareness for events, helping museums reach their visitors and enhance their onsite experience.
Entering Epic Games' Metaverse: Fortnite
Another exciting platform is Fortnite. You might be thinking, museum content on Fortnite? At first glance, it sounds absurd, but as Rob Hopkins highlighted during his keynote, “if it doesn’t seem ridiculous at first it’s nowhere near ambitious enough”! Fortnite, like Snapchat, has tremendous audience potential. 40% of Gen Alpha prefer Fortnite over other video games, and 62.7% of Fortnite players are aged 18 to 24. With the introduction of Unreal Editor for Fortnite, institutions can now create content for the platform. Epic has opened the platform for custom content, offering an example with an educational map centered around the pyramids of Giza. Building a Fortnite map ensures that your investment goes straight into creativity without managing the costly back end of a bespoke platform. Museums have a unique opportunity to create spaces of knowledge and education within the metaverse.
Immersing Visitors with Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality
This brings me to my other key takeaway: the desire to embrace emerging technologies. AI and Virtual Reality are revolutionizing how we interact with digital tools and media. AI tools make the creative process faster and more affordable than ever before. Virtual Reality, meanwhile, offers immersive experiences that can transport visitors to different times and places, adding depth and engagement to museum exhibits. By integrating these technologies, museums can not only attract younger, tech-savvy audiences but also enhance the educational impact of their exhibits. The future of museums lies in their ability to innovate and adapt to these new technologies, ensuring they remain relevant and inspiring in an ever-changing digital landscape.
Let's Get in Touch!
The AAM Future of Museums summit underscored the importance of adapting to the digital age and leveraging emerging technologies to engage and inspire audiences. Museums have a unique opportunity to transform how they connect with visitors, both online and offline. If you are looking for a partner to discuss the impacts on your organization or explore the possibilities to enhance your visitor experience, I would love to chat. Please click the link below to schedule some time with me. Let’s bring the future to your museum.