Author: Caroline Fazzini
Interpretation Intern - Museum Studies Internship Program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
While working at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as an interpretation intern, I was challenged to think holistically about museum experiences while experience-mapping their permanent collection galleries. Working closely with staff from across the institution, I mapped the entire museum in terms of the visitor experience preferences met within each space. The product, two massive 7’ x 5’ color-coded floor plans, exposed the current unbalanced distribution of interpretive content. These maps will be used over the course of the next several years as the Museum reinstalls these spaces. Through my involvement with this project I gained a practical understanding of how to think about and plan balanced museum experiences. This shift in mindset caused me to think of interpretation in a far more comprehensive way. Specifically in terms of designing experiences that speak to diverse audiences as well as satisfy individual preferences.
At the PMA, I also took part in conducting audience research for a digital interactive designed to make a Chinese temple ceiling from the 1400s more visible through the use of virtual reality. During testing, I assumed multiple roles including observational note taker and interviewer. From this, I gained experience not only developing research methodology and protocols, analyzing data, and communicating findings, but also dealing with real people as they actively engaged with an interpretive device in a museum context. Our results from testing will be used to improve the prototype’s functionality.
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