Museums+Tech 2016 conference

How can digital technology support museum storytelling?

Wednesday October 19 2016

MCG’s Museums+Tech, the conference formerly known as the Museums Computer Group’s Museums on the Web (UKMW), was held at the Wellcome Collection in London on 19 October 2016. 

The conference featured two inspirational keynotes, 10 informative presentation, 7 enlightening lightning talks, a lively Annual General Meeting and an exuberant drinks reception, complete with a magic photo booth!

Programme

09.45  –  Registration, with refreshments

10.15   –  Chair and Venue Welcome: Mia Ridge (MCG/British Library) and Tom Scott, Head of Digital Engagement, Wellcome Trust, ‘What is a digital library? Repository or platform?’

10.30  –  Keynote: Sebastian Deterding, Designer & Researcher, ‘I wonder…? Designing for Curiosity’

11.15  –  Refreshment break

11.45  –  Session One: Digital Storytelling

Chair: Charlotte Sexton

Elaine McIntyre, National Museums Scotlan, Behind ‘Explore’: how we rethought our approach to telling stories online

Rhiannon Looseley and Josh Blair, Museum of London, Fire! Fire! A story told several ways

Rosie Clarke, Culture24, Answer me this! Questions and experiments

12.45  –  Lunch & MCG AGM – Stay tuned for information about optional lunchtime tours.

14.00  –  Session Two: Lightning Talks

Chair: Katherine Biggs

Short, sharp talks aimed to provoke and stimulate

Russell Dornan, Wellcome Collection, Sleep Stories: crowdsourcing a patchwork of meaningful stories online and in person

Jason Evans, National Library of Wales, Sharing digital content with Wikimedia

Chloe Roberts, Wellcome Collection, Adaptive evolution with A/B testing

Anna Lowe, SMARTIFY, An Audioguide for the Digital Age

Sarah Cole, TIME/IMAGE, Poetic Places: Making a geolocation app with little time, less money, and no coding

Andrew Larking, Deeson, The naked bot

James Lloyd, Ure Museum of Greek Archaeology, Objects in the Round: photogrammetry for engagement and education

14.45  –  Refreshment break

15.15  –  Session Three: Parallel Sessions

Session 3a, main auditorium: Working in a Digital World

Chair: Mike Ellis

Martin Fell, York Museums Trust, Wikipedia projects aren’t built in a day – Roman coinage on Commons

Katharine Alston, Imperial War Museums, Using service design, dashboards and Trello in the trenches

Vahur Puik, Estonian Photographic Heritage Society, The hard work of crowdsourcing. The experience of Ajapaik.ee

Sarah Younas, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Digital as New, Authentic Museum Experiences

Session 3b, Franks and Steel rooms: Working with Collections

Chair: John Stack

Kate Noble, Sarah-Jane Harknett, Naomi Chapman, The University of Cambridge Museums, ‘It’s got to be easy to use’: collections based narratives in the classroom and how teachers use digital resources

Lucy Moore, Leeds Museums and Galleries, Creating an online interactive using a ‘difficult’ collection

Robert Cawston, National Museums Scotland, Generating engagement: creating playful experiences with museum collections

16.15  –  Keynote: Shelley Bernstein, Deputy Director of Digital Initiatives and Chief Experience Officer, Barnes Foundation, ‘How to change the Tires on a Moving Truck’

17.00 –  Conference close

17.15 –  Drinks Reception

Thanks

• Museums+Tech 2016 Event Coordinators: Ina Pruegel and Kath Biggs
• Comms, marketing, bursaries logistics and more: Brian Moss, Dafydd James, Ivan Teage, Jessica Suess, Mia Ridge, Rosie Clarke, Sarah Middle
• #musetech16 Programme Committee Chair: Mia Ridge. Programme Reviewers: Alison Clague, Ben Templeton, Claire Bailey-Ross, Danny Birchall, George Oates, Gill Greaves, Graham Davies, Jennifer Ross, Jenny Kidd, Jessica Suess, John Stack, Joseph Padfield, Kim Plowright, Richard Light, Sarah Middle, Sharna Jackson, Suse Cairns, Zak Mensah
• Speakers and session chairs
• The Wellcome Collection, especially Gemma Wallace, Danny Birchall, Tom Scott and Internet Archive tour lead
• The tweeters, snappers and bloggers who helped share the day’s stories

With thanks to the Wellcome Collection for their support.

Event Management: Ina Pruegel, Katherine Biggs
Programme Committee: Mia Ridge
Marketing: Rosie Clarke, Sarah Middle, Jessica Suess
Scholarships and bursaries: Brian Moss