About the Project

VisitorBox is led by Ben Bedwell. Ben has worked as a researcher for Horizon Digital Economy Research and the Mixed Reality Lab, as well as encouraging new research methods as a Digital Research Specialist at the University of Nottingham.

The goal of the project is to bring together academic knowledge and practical experience acquired during our previous work with organisations in the cultural heritage sector. As a result of these engagements, we now recognise many common challenges and benefits for cultural heritage institutions when they first consider using technologies to deliver new visitor experiences. VisitorBox aims to make it easier for these institutions to understand what technologies are available, what they might achieve with these technologies, how to appropriately match them to their audiences, and how to predict and plan for the challenges that new technologies can bring.

VisitorBox developed during a 12-month beta phase, which produced a toolkit including physical components – a deck of cards – as well as rules for using those cards, and a digital platform where custom decks can be generated and ideas can be stored, reviewed and analysed by the research team.

Team

Ben Bedwell recently left the University of Nottingham, where he helped researchers to explore new ways to use technologies in their research projects. He was responsible for leading the development and trials of VisitorBox, and now promotes its use by museums, galleries and any other venue or organisation rethinking its engagement strategy.

For enquiries about VisitorBox, including requests for facilitation, please email Ben via visitorbox@growlingfish.com

Katharina Lorenz is Professor of Classical Archaeology and Director of the ancient art collection at Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen. She combines research interests in Greek and Roman painting, sculpture and visual/spatial narrative, with experience of using technology to engage the public.

Steve Benford is a Professor of Computer Science in the Mixed Reality Lab at the University of Nottingham and an EPSRC Dream Fellow. He has extensive experience of studying emerging technologies in culture and entertainment domains, including art & performance, museums and amusement parks.

Partners

The following institutions have pledged time and facilities to help develop the VisitorBox project during the beta phase:

Nottingham City of Literature
The National Videogame Arcade
Uni of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Nottingham City Council
D.H. Lawrence Birthplace Museum
The National Trust
Nottingham Contemporary

Since the project began, we have also received valuable input from Culture24 and the GIFT project museum partners, who have continued to customise and use the toolkit.

Funding

During the beta phase, VisitorBox-related activities were supported by funding from the following sources:

The Arts & Humanities Research Council (AH/R004641/1)
The Enabling Innovation programme, funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund

We also wish to acknowledge the interest in the project from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant 727040), which has provided extensive feedback following use of the VisitorBox cards.