Van Gogh vs. Candy Crush: How museums are fighting tech with tech to win your eyes

Louvre, Paris

When it came time for one of the world’s oldest and most-visited museums to update its audio tour in 2012, the Louvre chose an unlikely device: a Nintendo 3DS XL. But the Audioguide Louvre: Nintendo 3DS XL, as it’s called, provides an interactive element in addition to 35 hours of audio content. Developed with help from Nintendo, the specialized 3DS XL provides maps, 3D and HD photos, and other extra content. Besides the 3DS, the Louvre is also investing in interactive displays and augmented reality.

de Young Museum, San Francisco

Besides collaborating with Google on the Google Art Project, where its collection of art is being digitized for online viewing, the de Young also dabbled with 3D printing when it needed to create a special stand for an 18th-century French clock. Using MakerBot Replicators and 3D CAD software, the museum fabricated a plastic stand that fits the clock perfectly. Other museums, including the Met and Brooklyn Museum, are experimenting with 3D printing. The de Young has a blog dedicated to its technology-related activities.

Brooklyn Museum, New York

Art on display is always accompanied by placards that give some details, which includes the title, artist, date, and, sometimes, a short description. But what if guests want to know more than what’s described? The Brooklyn Museum is using iBeacon technology as a way for guests to interact with museum experts, in situations like the one just described.

Through its iOS app, guests can ask questions about an artwork or for recommendations on what to see, and get a real-time response. Although the solution is more cost-effective than hiring greeters to roam around, the museum said installation proved a challenge.

Museums can also use beacons to send additional info; for example, a visitor standing near a painting might get a phone alert directing them to rich, interactive content relating to the painting. Major institutions like the Met, Museum of Modern Art in New York, and Guggenheim are also testing beacon-based location technology. (Check out the Brooklyn Museum’s tech blog on its latest endeavors.)

British Museum, London

With augmented reality, visitors can use a simple smartphone to discover more information about a piece of art in an interactive manner. For example, placing a smartphone or tablet over an ancient statue could display missing parts that have broken off – giving the visitor a glimpse of how it would have looked when it was new. Because AR responds to your movement in the environment, the experience is also completely 3D.

Working with Samsung, the British Museum used AR to create an education program for kids, where they can explore virtual content as they wander through the museum. AR is still in its infancy, but museums around the world are already testing its potential.

Getty Museum, Los Angeles

The Getty is no stranger to technology. It continues to develop tools that protect its collection of antiquities and other priceless art during earthquakes, and it was one of the first to digitize items in its collection and making them available online.

Like the British Museum and others, it’s also trying out augmented reality. The museum’s Collection Information and Access department recently unveiled an interactive AR feature that lets Getty website visitors use their webcam to explore a 17th-century cabinet, by overlaying a virtual 3D object atop a live feed. Users can interact with the object, working in conjunction with the viewer’s body movements.

Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, New York

Before the Cooper-Hewitt reopened after being closed for renovations, it wanted to give guests a more interactive experience that goes beyond a smartphone app. To deliver on that, the museum added 4K touchscreen tables where visitors can pull up high-res images and information on items from the museum’s collection – many that aren’t exhibited. Users can also draw shapes, and the display will display objects relating to those shapes. Seven tables – in 84, 55, or 42 inches – are placed throughout the museum, with the largest tables being able to accommodate simultaneous users. One table displays information about the donors and objects, while another talks about the museum’s space, the Carnegie Mansion.

The museum also gives guests access to the Pen, an electronic stylus that lets you remember the things you saw. Simply tap the Pen on a placard, and it’ll “collect” the information. Users can transfer the info to one of the aforementioned tables to collect more info. After the visit, users can access a dedicated website that contains all the objects collected.