Exhibits 102: Prototyping for Exhibits, Organizational Culture, and Getting Unstuck

ID: WMA2026_620

Track:

There are so many ways to get stuck in museum work. Prototyping is thought of as design tool, but it can be used in many aspects of museum practice to get us unstuck– this hands-on session offers an atypical perspective on prototyping–exploring the process of prototyping as an essential museum practice that applies to every department in your institution; from exploring exhibit & program ideas, to deepening community relationships, to building a more adventurous, innovative culture.

Session Information

Format: Full-day workshop (9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)

Fee: $35

Uniqueness: This workshop challenges the “polished-only” mindset, testing rough prototypes with real visitors and stakeholders, proving that unfinished ideas lead to better, more relevant, human-centered experiences.

Objectives:

Embrace experience-first design through prototyping. Participants will understand how starting with the visitor experience—rather than a finished product—leads to stronger, more meaningful outcomes. They will learn how prototyping reframes risk as learning and supports creativity, inclusion, and collaboration.  Practice methods for testing unfinished ideas with real audiences. Through hands-on building and playtesting, participants will gain firsthand experience gathering visitor feedback on early concepts. They will learn how to learn from and with audiences to meaningfully inform design decisions, both programmatically and experientially across their museum offerings. They will explore how prototyping practices will look different at different phases of a project– but how you can learn from testing throughout a project’s lifespan. 

Build confidence to apply low-cost, iterative approaches at their own museums.  A  prototype doesn’t require polished work, but learning a few techniques will help you make something that communicates to visitors, gives you useful feedback, and can support documentation to bring your stakeholders along with the conclusions you draw from it. 

While often associated with interactive exhibits, a prototyping approach is equally effective for programs, art, history, and cultural exhibitions where story, flow, and emotional impact matter. By focusing on adaptable mindsets and processes—not expensive infrastructure—this session meets museum professionals wherever they are.

Engagement: This day-long pre-conference session will include a variety of ways to participate: a structured ice breaker to get to know each other and establish participants’ needs and experience levels, large- and small-group conversations, a tour of a working prototype shop, a presentation of different approaches to prototyping and the kinds of learning they can offer museums, and hands-on experience building practical skills while making and learning from prototypes.

Relationship to Theme:

Audience

Audiences: Other 

Professional Level: All levels 

Scalability: Prototyping is designed to be scrappy and approachable, but it comes with challenges for small museums, which may be particularly stretched for space and materials, and for big museums, which may have more rigid or complex systems to navigate. This session will address problems at both ends of the spectrum, positioning participants as problem-solvers and resources to each other.

Participants