museum4punkt0: Joint project for digital cultural mediation nears successful conclusion

Press release from 05/03/2023

The Germany-wide joint project for digital cultural mediation, museum4punkt0, is presenting the results of its work at a two-day closing event that opened today at the Kulturforum in Berlin. / museum4punkt0 | workbook published as a "toolbox" for practitioners

The aim of museum4punkt0 was to make museums fit for the digital age. Since 2017, 27 differently orientated museums have developed a wide range of digital applications for the interactive and participatory communication of cultural heritage as part of the project.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth: "As an interdisciplinary laboratory of ideas, museum4punkt0 has impressively demonstrated how digital technologies can be used to create attractive and low-barrier access to cultural offerings. This model project has made a special contribution to the digital transformation of the German museum and cultural landscape, especially with its focus on the transferability of the knowledge gained to a larger group of institutions." The Minister of State for Culture has been funding the joint project since 2017 and has enabled it to be continued and expanded to 27 sub-projects as part of NEUSTART KULTUR 2022. In total, the federal funding amounts to 30 million euros.

"The mutual inspiration and exchange of experience between the participating museums has produced a fantastic range of digital mediation formats in the museum sector," emphasised Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, at the opening of the closing event. "As the coordinator of the joint project, the SPK was happy to facilitate this transfer of knowledge and is now providing a practical tool for all interested museums in the form of the joint workbook, which is based on the experience gained."

The final conference offers visitors the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the projects and their applications and experiences from six years. In various workshops, peer case consultations and expert discussions, participants will provide practical tips on all aspects of digital education and for everyday work. Visitors can also try out smartphone apps and other applications on site and network with other museum professionals. They will address questions such as:

What skills do museums need to become more digital?
What new paths can we take with our museum visitors?
What opportunities do hybrid formats offer for museums?
How can museums design the digital space?
How can participation in museums succeed?
How can re-use work beyond museum genres?
What skills do museums need to become more digital?
What new paths can we take with our museum visitors?
What opportunities do hybrid formats offer for museums?
How can museums shape the digital space?
How can participation in museums succeed?
How can re-use work beyond museum genres?

The museum4punkt0 | workbook, which will be presented at the closing event, is based on the experiences of employees from six years of collaboration across Germany. It is a toolbox for practitioners of digital cultural education, with checklists, tips and methods designed to encourage people to think and do things themselves. Download at: www.museum4punkt0.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/museum4punkt0_workbook_2023.pdf
The range of applications developed in museum4punkt0 extends from tools for customised exploration of the outdoor space with augmented reality elements, virtual reality offerings and participatory platforms to citizen science apps and playful approaches to content and objects.

These include, for example, the interactive game station "Autumn 89 - On the Streets of Leipzig", which was recently nominated for the German Computer Game Award and was developed by the museum4punkt0 team at the German Historical Museum. In the format of a graphic novel, users can play through 9 October 1989 in Leipzig in seven different roles and influence the events of the day with their decisions. https://www.dhm.de/ausstellungen/roads-not-taken-oder-es-haette-auch-anders-kommen-koennen/herbst-89-auf-den-strassen-von-leipzig/

"Ping! The museum app" from the Badisches Landesmuseum offers a chat with an object in the museum and thus enables an emotional, personal approach. The application was conceived at the Humboldt Forum Foundation in Berlin Palace as part of the museum4punkt0 programme and further developed by the Baden State Museum. The app is now being used in the museum4punkt0 network and far beyond under the name "My Object". https://www.landesmuseum.de/digital/apps-und-podcasts/ping

Exploring an archaeological research field with your own smartphone as a find detector: The app developed by the Varusschlacht im Osnabrücker Land - Museum und Park Kalkriese team offers interactive exploration of the 11-hectare museum park, whose archaeological finds point to the site of the Varus Battle. From pre-school children to seasoned experts: the app takes individual interests and prior knowledge into account and thus offers an engaging experience for all visitors. https://vap.kalkriese-varusschlacht.de/index.html

The team at the Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz has developed the virtual reality programme "Adventure Soil Life", which conveys the biodiversity beneath our feet: Users can experience centipedes, springtails, rotifers and much more shrunk 200-fold to the size of a woodlouse. Visitors have already been able to use the application in over 30 museums and research institutions, including those outside Germany. From home, the three habitats - leaf litter, pore space and water film - can be explored via a 360-degree panoramic tour on the website. www.vr-bodenleben.senckenberg

Vimuki - a tandem project between the Historisches Museum Saar and the Historisches Museum der Pfalz - is a digital platform on which museums offer high-quality live tours of their exhibitions, collections and magazines. These can be customised by adding media and interactive features. With the help of 3D models, 360° tours, film sequences and much more, Vimuki exploits the wide-ranging possibilities of the digital world to offer pupils the most immersive experience possible. This enables learning in an innovative environment. Teachers and school classes can also access accompanying educational material to prepare for and follow up on the digital museum visit. https://vimuki.org/

The Oberhessisches Museum has only been part of the museum4punkt0 network since 2022 and has participated in the imp - immersiv. Virtual storytelling in the museum space, it has developed an innovative augmented reality audio walk. Visitors can follow the Giessen student Line through the museum starting from the Giessen city model and experience the city's history in a completely new way. The combination of an emotional narrative style with playful illustrations and lively AR elements creates a unique user experience. https://www.giessen.de/Erleben/Kultur/Museen-Ausstellungen/Oberhessisches-Museum/Vermittlung/Virtuelles-Storytelling-im-Museumsraum/

All sub-projects in the museum4punkt0 network: www.museum4punkt0.de/teilprojekte/

Press images:www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html

museum4punkt0 in the blog and on social media:

Blog: www.museum4punkt0.de/blog/

Twitter: twitter.com/museum4punkt0

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/museum4punkt0

Instagram: www.instagram.com/museum4punkt0/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/museum4punkt0

YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC1NuwaEeJLjnrJZTQUmhGWw

Vimeo: vimeo.com/channels/museum4punkt0

Blog: www.museum4punkt0.de/blog/

Twitter: twitter.com/museum4punkt0