Environmental Storytelling in the Museum

This post summarizes a talk I gave at the 2024 Association of Academic Museums and Galleries virtual convening.

The talk focused on Enter The Mithraeum, an immersive exhibition developed for my undergraduate thesis in Human-Centered Design. It was open at the Rick and Susan Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity from April 29th- May 1st, 2024  for students and professors of the Claremont Colleges. The two-room exhibition invited visitors to explore a colorful recreation of a Mithraeum, a type of underground temple common from the 1st-4th century CE in the Roman Empire. This project showcased the use of human-centered design methodology to create an interactive exhibition that introduced visitors to the religious diversity of the Roman Empire. 

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The Exhibition

On any normal day, students at the Rick and Susan Sontag Center for Collaborative Creativity (AKA. the Hive) dash from room to room with gigantic pieces of cardboard and foam core. It’s a loud and dynamic space, filled with furniture mounted on wheels to quickly rearrange classrooms and common spaces. While it’s not what we would typically imagine as a museum or gallery space, it allows for design students and professors to prototype and iterate spatial ideas. In my courses at the Hive, I watched and participated in student projects creating low-poly prototypes of high-concept ideas. For example, my classmates in 2022 demonstrated their idea for a Subway-themed cafe and study space using rolling whiteboards and throw pillows. This creative presentation allowed them to not just tell, but show their audience what their idea would look like. Only using low-cost and temporary materials.

These were the same concepts and materials I applied to my thesis project in May 2024, where I explored the possibilities of immersive exhibit design in antiquities museums. The exhibit was open April 29th- May 1st, 2024  for students, professors, staff, and community members of the five Claremont Colleges. It was in a small room of the Hive called the Vault, which typically functions as a quiet reading room. 

Enter the Mithraeum invites visitors to explore the forgotten ancient religion of Mithraism, popular in the Roman Empire from the 1st to the 4th century CE. Multisensory and cinematic, the exhibit introduces visitors to the religious diversity of the Roman Empire by transporting them to an ancient religious site right after a ritual has been completed. This exhibit was created as a prototype presentation for how I imagine the practice of environmental storytelling being used in an antiquities museum. It was small and portable, using only materials that were available in the design center, and could be assembled and disassembled in around an hour.

Immersive Design

When museum professionals hear about “immersive design” their minds may jump to the Immersive Van Gogh exhibitions that tour internationally and typically have a steep entry cost. This is unfortunate because these exhibitions feel antithetical to the goals of historical museums. As “immersive educational experiences” they fail on all fronts. Without the input of curators and art historical experts, these exhibitions don’t typically have any educational value. At best, they can inspire curiosity so that visitors may feel encouraged to do their own research outside of the exhibitions. Additionally, they fail at immersion as well, often restricting visitor movement with small circle decals on the warehouselike floor. These poor examples may steer museum professionals away from the idea of immersive design.

A more positive example is offered by the Bug Lab, a traveling exhibition co-created by the Te Papa Museum of New Zealand and the design group Weta Workshop. Expert designers and curators worked with biologists to create a truly immersive exhibit aimed at multi-generational families, where visitors learn about bugs through interactive games, dioramas, and conversation prompts. The result is a memorable experience that captures the attention and imagination of visitors without sacrificing educational value.

Another more narrative example is offered by the multiple immersive art installations created by Meow Wolf, an American arts and entertainment company. Their “Convergence Station” in Denver, Colorado is presented as an interdimensional transport hub linking Earth to the Convergence of Worlds. While exploring the exhibition visitors encounter hints at a fictional intergalactic mystery, the story of four women who disappeared as a result of this convergence event. Visitors are invited to uncover stories by exploring different rooms and unlocking more information using a Q-Card, an RFID system that allows them to interact with story elements. This experience utilizes elements of experience design developed for theme parks and video games. In the Q-Card I see echoes of the use of RFID technology in the MagicBands at the Disney Parks and the more recent Power-Up Bands at Super Nintendo World. The application of RFID technology in museums was tested over two decades ago at the Exploratorium in San Fransisco. As the technology has become more scalable and familiar to visitors, I would love to see RFID returned to museums. 

Environmental Storytelling

In order to understand how immersive education experiences could be used in antiquities museums, I believe we should look further into the world of themed experience design and the concept of “environmental storytelling.” I learned about this concept from the incredible designer Don Carson, who is often credited as the originator of the term , though the concept itself is much older. Don designs themed immersive experiences, crafting concepts that are welcoming and appealing for vast audiences, while also telling deep and engaging stories. He has also written extensively on concept design across different fields.

Instead of a linear story, he describes an an environmental story as one that the viewer starts to assemble in their own imagination as they’re moving through a space.

Enter The Mithraeum, inspired by these practices and drawing from archeological evidence, featured recreations of architectural elements and objects from the Roman temples. It highlighted the multisensory elements of smell, taste, and texture in the ancient world. Sharing this exhibit I hope to reveal the potential for environmental storytelling as one way to create equitable and engaging exhibits about ancient Rome.

Visitors are welcomed into an immersive environment offering multiple modes of engagement, all of which can serve as memorable and meaningful pathways to learning.  This opens the door for people with diverse educational backgrounds and learning preferences to engage with complex topics. It was rewarding to bring my friends, family, and professors into the Mithraeum because it was one of the first times I felt like I was truly able to share my love of Roman archaeology with them. For once, it felt like they were just as excited as I was.

Active experiences have the potential to generate powerful memories and excitement for people who don’t typically feel a connection to the material. This active learning state is also an excellent tool for education. Game design theorist Laura E. Hall writes about how people feel more ownership, more excitement, and more connection to things that they figure out themselves.

Artifact Repatriation

These are byproducts of bringing immersive experiential design into museums but the impetus for this project wasn’t inclusivity. This exhibit was prompted by the need to innovate specifically within antiquities museums as calls for artifact repatriation necessitate changes in museum collections. There is a future where antiquities museums are welcoming, engaging, and educational without centering objects of questionable provenance. For exhibits like this to jump out of fantasy and into reality, curators must be willing to experiment with new multisensory forms of education. Drawing inspiration from different fields could be the key to embracing the needs of visitors and the realities of changing museum collections.