A Model for Museum Outreach Based on Shared Interactive Spaces

Just as museum professionals and visitors are becoming more accustomed to preparing, seeing, and using computers in exhibits, the possibilities for interactivity are mushrooming with the expansion of computer networks. Researchers are beginning to develop environments in which many people can be "present" simultaneously. The current contexts typically include meeting places and some type of game-playing, but the milieus present possibilities for serious learning as well. In this paper I describe some of the history of networked multiuser spaces, sketch aspects of a learning environment and online community, and explain how this example suggests a model for museum outreach. The model addresses a dilemma in museum education: designing for smooth traffic flow through exhibit areas works against possibilities for time-intensive involvement with materials and ideas, which leads to learning in any deep sense.