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The Participatory Museum Kindle Edition

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 129 ratings

Visitor participation is a hot topic in the contemporary world of museums, art galleries, science centers, libraries, and cultural organizations. How can your institution do it and do it well?

The Participatory Museum is a practical guide to working with community members and visitors to make cultural institutions more dynamic, relevant, essential places. Museum consultant and exhibit designer Nina Simon weaves together innovative design techniques and case studies to make a powerful case for participatory practice.

"Nina neatly balances practical ideas for immediate implementation with broader strategic thinking, making The Participatory Museum THE go-to recipe book for the coming years." - Sebastian Chan, Head of Digital, Social and Emerging Technologies, Powerhouse Museum, Australia

"This book is an extraordinary resource. Nina has assembled the collective wisdom of the field and has given it her own brilliant spin. She shows us all how to walk the talk."
-Kathleen McLean, museum designer and author of Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions

"Nina Simon's new book is essential for museum directors interested in experimenting with audience participation on the one hand and cautious about upending the traditional museum model on the other. Museums need to change, are changing, and will change further in the future. This book is a helpful and thoughtful road map for speeding such transformation."
-Elaine Gurian, international museum consultant and author of Civilizing the Museum

"I predict that in the future this book will be a classic work of museology."
-Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums

Editorial Reviews

Review

The Participatory Museum has the resonance of a manifesto and the potential to make a transformative impact on museum practice and visitors' experiences in museums in the coming decades. --Eric Siegel, Director and Chief Content Officer, New York Hall of Science

"Nina Simon's new book is essential for museum directors interested in experimenting with audience participation on the one hand and cautious about upending the tradition museum model on the other." --Elaine Gurian, international museum consultant and author of Civilizing the Museum

"This book is an extraordinary resource. Nina has assembled the collective wisdom of the field, and has given it her own brilliant spin. Her book will make you want to go right out and start experimenting with participatory projects." --Kathleen McLean, participatory museum designer and author of Planning for People in Museum Exhibitions

"I predict that in the future this book will be a classic work of museology." --Elizabeth Merritt, founding director of the Center for the Future of Museums

"Nina neatly balances practical ideas for immediate implementation with broader strategic thinking, making
The Participatory Museum the go-to recipe book for the coming years." --Sebastian Chan, Head of Digital, Social and Emerging Technologies, Powerhouse Museum, Australia

About the Author

Nina Simon is an independent experience designer with expertise in participatory design, gaming, and social technology. She is the principal of Museum 2.0, a design firm that works with museums, libraries, and cultural institutions worldwide to create dynamic, audience-driven exhibitions and educational programs. In addition to design work, Nina lectures and gives workshops on visitor participation. She is an adjunct professor of social technology in the University of Washington Museology program. Nina authors the Museum 2.0 blog, which also appears as a column in Museum magazine. She is also a member of the board of the National Association of Museum Exhibitions. Previously, Nina served as Curator at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, CA, and was the Experience Development Specialist at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. Nina lives in Santa Cruz, California. She spends her free time rock climbing and building tree houses.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B003A8440G
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Museum 2.0 (February 26, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 26, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2.1 MB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 390 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 129 ratings

About the author

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Nina Simon
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I write crime stories about strong women. My first novel, MOTHER-DAUGHTER MURDER NIGHT, about a grandma, single mom, and teenage girl who come together to solve a murder mystery, is out now.

Writing is my joy. In college, I was an electrical engineering student by day and a slam poet by night. After a brief stint at NASA, I started designing interactive exhibits and eventually became a museum director. I wrote two books of nonfiction about participatory, relevant cultural institutions. I thought of nonprofits as my "real" job and writing on the side.

Then, my mom got sick. I quit my job to help care for her, and I found myself turning to fiction--crime stories especially--as a way to escape during a hard time. My mom and I both always loved mysteries, and I decided to try to write one myself, with a detective/hero based on her. Now, my mom is doing better, and I'm gratefully spending my days writing, reading, and dreaming up new stories.

I live off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz mountains with my family. You can find out more about me at https://ninaksimon.com/

I write a very occasional newsletter at https://ninaksimon.substack.com/

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
129 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book offers compelling real-life examples and concrete approaches to making experiences more interactive. They find it informative and interesting, with a clear explanation of how to conduct museum research. The book is described as easy to read and take notes on, making it a must-read for stakeholders wishing to make museums meaningful and lively.

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14 customers mention "Case studies"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the case studies in the book engaging and informative. They appreciate the practical examples and concrete approaches to making experiences more interactive. The book provides useful insights for conducting museum research and enhancing the visitor experience.

"...I was delighted with the many engaging examples of successful participatory projects collected. Thoughtful analysis of each example was provided...." Read more

"Very interesting and informative. Anyone who works in curatorial, or visitor services in a museum will gain a lot of benefit from this." Read more

"...I learned developing visitor profiles and design methods for creating socially interactive environments in the museums and in cultural institutions..." Read more

"...the inner workings of interaction, but also gives you great ideas for how to conduct museum-research which results can be immediately applied to..." Read more

6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and take notes on. They say it's a must-read for stakeholders wishing to make museums meaningful and lively. The author's way of conducting the reading is inspiring, and they love her blog.

"This book is a delightful read, accessible even for those who are not involved in museum studies...." Read more

"...approach technical problems in the museum. It is easy read, and not only gives it a great foundation to understanding the inner workings of..." Read more

"...the reading, lots of ideas spring, because the way she conducts the reading is very inspiring...." Read more

"...'s not the most interesting read for a university class but its good enough to read and take notes on the demanded subject." Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2010
    This book is a delightful read, accessible even for those who are not involved in museum studies. I came to this book looking for ideas on how to create and support contributory learning experiences. I was delighted with the many engaging examples of successful participatory projects collected. Thoughtful analysis of each example was provided. Examples selected came from a variety of fields. This diversity really helped me to connect with the book even more, as I came to the book looking for cross-disciplinary insights. The book also does a great job of covering all aspects of design that need to be considered; establishing participation goals, evaluating and managing such projects.

    A truly delightful read, I highly recommend.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2023
    Very interesting and informative. Anyone who works in curatorial, or visitor services in a museum will gain a lot of benefit from this.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2013
    When I read the book I felt my self doing my PhD about modern museology. I learned designing participatory projects in cultural institutions and museums with an analytical and systematic approach. I learned developing visitor profiles and design methods for creating socially interactive environments in the museums and in cultural institutions. There are also very good and effective examples and case studies. I will use these designing methods in my work, which is designing and realizing museums both interior design and content development... Dear Nina, thank you very much ... I hope one day we meet you... We wish you a lot of success and a good life with full of new participatory designs for museums... Best Wishes Cigdem Yavuz Tasarimhane Istanbul Turkey cigdem@tasarimhane.com f:tasarimhane
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2013
    I am in the midst of writing my thesis on material culture and museums.This is book gives a clear and systematic path in how to
    approach technical problems in the museum. It is easy read, and not only gives it a great foundation to understanding the inner workings of interaction, but also gives you great ideas for how to conduct museum-research which results can be immediately applied to your pedagogical museum. The book should be compulsory to anyone involved with museums or interactive design, student or professional.

    Fidel Soto, Norway

    BA(Hons)product design, MA in material culture and didacticism
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2014
    In The Participatory Museum, Nina Simon argues that the social web has changed the way that people relate to one another and the world, and makes a case for introducing participatory design to cultural institutions.

    The Participatory Museum offers compelling real-life examples and case studies of cultural institutions that have adopted new media strategies to help fulfill their institutional missions. These new media strategies do not always (and often do not) take place on the web. Rather, Simon is concerned with gleaning knowledge from web and new media interactions, and apply this knowledge to the real world.

    Simon looks for inspiration in unexpected places. The case studies and examples that Simon cites are not limited to the museum world nor even to cultural institutions. She broadens her case studies to include for-profit corporations. including Netflix, Nike, and Harrah's Casinos.

    Translating the participatory nature of social media to a museum sounds like a great idea. But as Simon is quick to acknowledge, this process is harder than it sounds. So how can museums design good participatory experiences? The bulk of the book is devoted to answering that question, so I will just briefly summarize some of Simon's most compelling points.

    First, Simon acknowledges that not everyone WANTS to participate. For this reason, Simon suggests that participatory techniques should only be one of the interpretive techniques used by a museum.

    Second, even when people do want to participate, they will participate in different ways.

    Third, the use of cutting-edge technology is not neccessary to build a good participatory experience. Some of the options that Simon explores are decidedly low-tech.

    Finally, museums should not pursue participatory unless it is really relevant to their mission. Institutions should only be asking questions that they care about and always, always, always be prepared to listen to the answers.

    Most importantly to me as a reader, Simon is not just talking the talk. She posted her book online creating a dynamic piece of content where users can access her bibliography, review the book, comment on specific chapters, and add their own case studies. Simon is walking the walk by designing a truly participatory reader experience.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2010
    I don't work in a field related to museums at all. I sell enterprise software, but a common problem plaguing all businesses these days is how to stay relevant in a world where the public expects a level of interaction that the classic didactic experiences don't provide. Consumers want a high level or personalization, and interaction creates rich "sticky" experiences. I would recommend this book to anyone in experience design, shopper marketing, or anyone who ever has to has to stand a trade show booth.

    One of the best things about this book is that she explains concrete approaches to make experiences more interactive and these are all based on case studies, there's little or no hand waving and pontification.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2012
    I really made a great deal on this book. The concepts on participation are exactly what I've been looking for in the sense of a more relevant, fulfilling and inclusive visitor experience in a museum or cultural center. Along the reading, lots of ideas spring, because the way she conducts the reading is very inspiring.
    If you work with cultural centers, museums, this is a must read.
    I strongly recomend!

    The only thing it falls short on is the cover. I wasn't even half way trough the book and the cover is so thin (for a 250 page book) that it looked like the book went to war. A hard cover would have met up wiht the quality of the content.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • n j hills
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fast delivery. Great book and great service. Thank you!!!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 16, 2021
    Very enlightening book from great Company!!
  • Sam Schellenberg
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Possum
    Reviewed in Canada on September 21, 2018
    This is a great book and helped me make my museum more dynamic and intriguing to customers. 10/10 Would read over and over.
  • angelantonio petruzzella
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must
    Reviewed in Italy on June 26, 2020
    The most important book about this argument available in this moment
  • Jessica
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2019
    A really helpful and clear book - a classic in understanding museum participation and valuing it in all its forms
  • fanis
    5.0 out of 5 stars interesting book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2012
    Although i have not yet finished the book i find the topic very interesting. Focus on practical matters about museum vistors and their participation in enhencing their museum experience.

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