The phygital museum scale. Measuring and designing phygital museum experiences

Abstract

Museums have embraced the digital in varied ways slowly acknowledging its relevance and significance over time. The relevance of the digital to the museum experience subsequently increased during the covid-19 pandemic when digital practically became the only medium at the disposal of museums worldwide with which to stay relevant. This paper seeks to discuss in detail the ‘Phygital Museum Scale’ and expand on the five corresponding scenarios originally proposed by the same author and published in March 2022. It shall discuss the research informing the ways and means how museums pivoted to the digital in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and review in detail the possible application of the ‘Phygital Museum Scale’ for museums at various levels. In conclusion, this paper shall take a case study approach by stress-testing and reviewing the ‘Phygital Museum Scale’ in the case of traditional narratives of museum display generally and predominantly focused on material culture and materiality that informs both container and content.