Interaction Paradigms in Technology-Enhanced Social Spaces: a Case Study in Museums

This paper investigates, through a case study, the interaction paradigms that can be adopted in a museum exhibition involving hybrid interactive artifacts, i.e., installations that support visitors manipulating and interacting with physical and digital exhibits [6], [1]. We discuss the design principles and solutions we adopted in a temporary exhibition titled "The Fire and The Mountain", where we integrated technological and physical artifacts within a multi-sensory exhibition space to foster enjoyment, engagement, and, ultimately, learning, and to promote a variety of social behaviors among visitors interacting together and with hybrid exhibits. We also discuss a field study we carried on to evaluate the user experience in "The Fire and the Mountain", and the lessons we learnt.