How People Use Electronic Interactives in Information Age - People, Information & Technology

Electronic interactives are a powerful new method for communicating with museum visitors. Although museum professionals differ on specific uses, most agree that such devices can be valuable additions to traditional display techniques. They unquestionably attract visitors. But how do visitors use the interactives? How much do they use them? How does their presence affect visitors' experience with traditional displays? In this paper, we will reflect on these questions as we describe what we are beginning to learn about visitor behavior in an exhibit at the National Museum of American History called Information Age: People, Information & Technology. This exhibition not only has many different sorts of interactive displays, but also a network that monitors user activities at a dozen of these stations.