Experiments conducted in the Egyptian Museum of Turin on public behavior and the potential of participatory activities for inclusive communication

Abstract

Cultural communication in museums is an extremely prescient issue, especially considering inclusion as central to accessibility. Visitor behavior is a subject in which audience surveys rarely delve and provide curators with precise and practical guidance about how visitors experience the museum. As part of the European META-MUSEUM project, which investigates in detail the public's responses to cultural stimuli, not only from a cognitive but also from an emotional (i.e. neurophysiological) point of view, two experiments were conducted at the Egyptian Museum in Turin, from which useful indications for future solutions can be drawn. The first experiment utilized eye tracker on a sample of volunteers as they visited two Rooms, to monitor their observation patterns, later mapped for analysis. This allows for a visitor centred approach to assess how the curated environment of a museum reaches the public, trends in public engagement with the contents in the room and how the intentions of the curator line up with the experience of the visitor. The second involved a sample of young adult visitors who were invited to take part in co-creation activity: an opportunity for them to interact with the curators, on historic photos of archaeological excavations. While the first experiment shows that very few visitors are able to identify the most important objects, and that their gaze often follows trajectories that are contrary to what the curated exhibition aims for, the second experiment shows that the active involvement of visitors greatly increases their attention and understanding of objects that they had not previously even glanced at. At the same time, the opportunity to contribute to the interpretation of the objects on display greatly increases their self-esteem and therefore their ability to memorize and recall the content: a process open to everyone, regardless of background, ability, or gender. This paper illustrates these experiments in detail and analyses the results, developing some useful considerations for museum professionals to increase the involvement of all visitors.

Keywords: Cultural Heritage, eye tracking, META-MUSEUM, co-creation

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006861