[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":479},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-posts-en":3},[4,47,77,212,242],{"_path":5,"_dir":6,"_draft":7,"_partial":7,"_locale":8,"title":9,"description":10,"date":11,"author":12,"authorTitle":13,"image":14,"alternateSlug":15,"body":16,"_type":40,"_id":41,"_source":42,"_file":43,"_stem":44,"_extension":45,"sitemap":46},"/en/blog/ai-museum-guide-museum-kranenburgh-exhibition","blog",false,"","AI Museum Guide at the AI - Artist Exhibition in Museum Kranenburgh","In November, the AI Museum Guide will be part of the exhibition AI - Artist at Museum Kranenburgh.","2026-09-10","Kris van Melis","Co-founder, AI Museum Guide","/assets/blog/museum-kranenburgh.jpg","ai-museum-guide-museum-kranenburgh",{"type":17,"children":18,"toc":37},"root",[19,27,32],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":22,"children":23},"element","p",{},[24],{"type":25,"value":26},"text","We're proud to announce that in November, AI Museum Guide will be part of the exhibition AI - Artist at Museum Kranenburgh.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":28,"children":29},{},[30],{"type":25,"value":31},"AI Museum Guide adds a deeper, interactive layer to the visit: on their own phone, visitors discover the stories behind the artworks, in their own language and at the level that suits them.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":33,"children":34},{},[35],{"type":25,"value":36},"I'm looking forward to working together with Laura Eijpe, Heleen Dijkhuizen and Loïs Geerlings.",{"title":8,"searchDepth":38,"depth":38,"links":39},2,[],"markdown","content:en:blog:ai-museum-guide-museum-kranenburgh-exhibition.md","content","en/blog/ai-museum-guide-museum-kranenburgh-exhibition.md","en/blog/ai-museum-guide-museum-kranenburgh-exhibition","md",{"loc":5},{"_path":48,"_dir":6,"_draft":7,"_partial":7,"_locale":8,"title":49,"description":50,"date":51,"author":12,"authorTitle":13,"image":52,"alternateSlug":53,"body":54,"_type":40,"_id":73,"_source":42,"_file":74,"_stem":75,"_extension":45,"sitemap":76},"/en/blog/user-testing-museum-boerhaave","User Testing at Museum Boerhaave: How the Guide Breaks Down Language Barriers","At Museum Boerhaave we're testing the AI Museum Guide with visitors. A Japanese family showed how the guide adds value right away.","2026-09-03","/assets/blog/boerhaave-testlocatie.jpg","gebruikerstesten-museum-boerhaave",{"type":17,"children":55,"toc":71},[56,61,66],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":57,"children":58},{},[59],{"type":25,"value":60},"A few weeks ago we started user testing our AI Museum Guide at Museum Boerhaave. We wanted to know: what do visitors really think of this pilot? And it was a pleasant surprise to see how the guide adds value right away.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":62,"children":63},{},[64],{"type":25,"value":65},"During the tests we met a Japanese family. The children spoke English, but the parents didn't. Even so, thanks to the Japanese translations in our guide, they could fully enjoy the information. The father, a doctor himself, happily dove into the details of the models of eye diseases: a great example of how technology widens access to knowledge.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":67,"children":68},{},[69],{"type":25,"value":70},"Unfortunately, we had to disappoint them: the guide isn't available throughout the whole museum yet. But it was inspiring to see how the AI Museum Guide breaks down language barriers and connects visitors with the collection in a new way.",{"title":8,"searchDepth":38,"depth":38,"links":72},[],"content:en:blog:user-testing-museum-boerhaave.md","en/blog/user-testing-museum-boerhaave.md","en/blog/user-testing-museum-boerhaave",{"loc":48},{"_path":78,"_dir":6,"_draft":7,"_partial":7,"_locale":8,"title":79,"description":80,"date":81,"author":12,"authorTitle":13,"image":82,"alternateSlug":83,"body":84,"_type":40,"_id":208,"_source":42,"_file":209,"_stem":210,"_extension":45,"sitemap":211},"/en/blog/highlight-delft-research-ai-museum-guide","What Visitors Think of the AI Museum Guide — Research at Highlight Delft","At Highlight Delft we tested the AI Museum Guide with real visitors. What did they think, and what could be better? The findings from our qualitative research.","2026-06-22","/assets/blog/highlight-delft-onderzoek.jpg","highlight-delft-onderzoek-ai-museum-guide",{"type":17,"children":85,"toc":203},[86,91,96,103,110,121,130,140,148,158,168,174,179,187,193,198],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":87,"children":88},{},[89],{"type":25,"value":90},"Building a guide is one thing. Knowing how visitors actually experience it is another. So during the Highlight Delft Festival (February 2026) we tested the AI Museum Guide with real visitors for the first time — and asked them right afterward what they thought.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":92,"children":93},{},[94],{"type":25,"value":95},"We interviewed seven visitors aged 22 to 78, Dutch and international, just after they'd used the guide on their own phone at the artworks. The result: a pleasant, low-threshold experience — especially for younger visitors.",{"type":20,"tag":97,"props":98,"children":102},"vimeo-embed",{"caption":99,"id":100,"title":101},"Watch the aftermovie here:","1171901014","What 141 visitors thought at Highlight Delft",[],{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":105,"children":107},"h2",{"id":106},"what-visitors-appreciate",[108],{"type":25,"value":109},"What visitors appreciate",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":111,"children":112},{},[113,119],{"type":20,"tag":114,"props":115,"children":116},"strong",{},[117],{"type":25,"value":118},"A lower threshold, more active looking.",{"type":25,"value":120}," Visitors often skip traditional museum texts or find them too complicated. The guide adapts the text to their level and gets them thinking through questions.",{"type":20,"tag":122,"props":123,"children":124},"blockquote",{},[125],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":126,"children":127},{},[128],{"type":25,"value":129},"\"I don't really like reading those little signs, so I just skipped that. And then I went straight to answering the questions.\" — Visitor",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":131,"children":132},{},[133,138],{"type":20,"tag":114,"props":134,"children":135},{},[136],{"type":25,"value":137},"Depth at their own pace.",{"type":25,"value":139}," The guide goes beyond what fits on a label. Visitors choose for themselves where to dig deeper.",{"type":20,"tag":122,"props":141,"children":142},{},[143],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":144,"children":145},{},[146],{"type":25,"value":147},"\"There was one artifact that drew my attention. I could stand there for 30 minutes talking to AI about that one artifact.\" — Visitor",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":149,"children":150},{},[151,156],{"type":20,"tag":114,"props":152,"children":153},{},[154],{"type":25,"value":155},"Discovering together, in any language.",{"type":25,"value":157}," Visitors often used the guide together and started talking to each other. And because it works in multiple languages, the museum becomes more accessible to international visitors.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":159,"children":160},{},[161,166],{"type":20,"tag":114,"props":162,"children":163},{},[164],{"type":25,"value":165},"Motivation to keep looking.",{"type":25,"value":167}," The playful, quiz-like setup encourages visitors to explore more works.",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":169,"children":171},{"id":170},"what-could-be-better",[172],{"type":25,"value":173},"What could be better",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":175,"children":176},{},[177],{"type":25,"value":178},"No research is complete without criticism, and we took it seriously. Some visitors don't always want to get their information through the quiz questions — questions often arise spontaneously. And the knowledge level, which visitors now choose only at the start, is something they'd like to adjust along the way too.",{"type":20,"tag":122,"props":180,"children":181},{},[182],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":183,"children":184},{},[185],{"type":25,"value":186},"\"Maybe an option to skip the questions and ask your own questions right away.\" — Visitor",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":188,"children":190},{"id":189},"what-this-teaches-us",[191],{"type":25,"value":192},"What this teaches us",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":194,"children":195},{},[196],{"type":25,"value":197},"Visitors aren't uninterested — they're often held back by texts that don't connect. The AI Museum Guide offers information in a low-threshold, interactive way and challenges visitors to look more actively and draw their own connections. That makes the guide more than an information source: a new form of public mediation that strengthens accessibility, engagement, and meaning.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":199,"children":200},{},[201],{"type":25,"value":202},"This research is based on the version we tested at Highlight Delft in February 2026. Since 11 June we've also been live at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, where we're doing additional research. We'll share those results as soon as they're available.",{"title":8,"searchDepth":38,"depth":38,"links":204},[205,206,207],{"id":106,"depth":38,"text":109},{"id":170,"depth":38,"text":173},{"id":189,"depth":38,"text":192},"content:en:blog:highlight-delft-research-ai-museum-guide.md","en/blog/highlight-delft-research-ai-museum-guide.md","en/blog/highlight-delft-research-ai-museum-guide",{"loc":78},{"_path":213,"_dir":6,"_draft":7,"_partial":7,"_locale":8,"title":214,"description":215,"date":216,"author":12,"authorTitle":13,"image":217,"alternateSlug":218,"body":219,"_type":40,"_id":238,"_source":42,"_file":239,"_stem":240,"_extension":45,"sitemap":241},"/en/blog/visit-national-model-railway-museum-sneek","Visiting the National Model Railway Museum in Sneek","Last Saturday we joined a setup day at the National Model Railway Museum in Sneek. We're going live with a new visitor experience in early May.","2026-04-15","/assets/blog/modelspoor-sneek.jpg","bezoek-nationaal-modelspoor-museum-sneek",{"type":17,"children":220,"toc":236},[221,226,231],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":222,"children":223},{},[224],{"type":25,"value":225},"Last Saturday we visited Het Nationaal Modelspoor Museum (the National Model Railway Museum) in Sneek! 🚂",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":227,"children":228},{},[229],{"type":25,"value":230},"The museum moved to a new location in October, and we were there for a setup day. Together we're building a new visitor experience with AI Museum Guide, so every visitor can soon explore the world behind model railways at their own level and in their own language. We're going live in early May!",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":232,"children":233},{},[234],{"type":25,"value":235},"It was wonderful to see the passion behind a museum like this. Thanks to Rowdy Van der Veen and Henk for the great collaboration and warm welcome!",{"title":8,"searchDepth":38,"depth":38,"links":237},[],"content:en:blog:visit-national-model-railway-museum-sneek.md","en/blog/visit-national-model-railway-museum-sneek.md","en/blog/visit-national-model-railway-museum-sneek",{"loc":213},{"_path":243,"_dir":6,"_draft":7,"_partial":7,"_locale":8,"title":244,"description":245,"date":246,"author":12,"authorTitle":13,"image":247,"imageCredit":248,"alternateSlug":249,"body":250,"_type":40,"_id":475,"_source":42,"_file":476,"_stem":477,"_extension":45,"sitemap":478},"/en/blog/why-museum-visitors-dont-read-most-texts","Why Museum Visitors Don't Read Most Texts (And What Actually Works)","Research shows visitors read only 20–30% of museum texts. What does the science say about why — and what actually works to engage them?","2026-03-17","https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1769248341457-0bedb65741e3?q=80&w=1674&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D","Barbara Burgess on Unsplash","waarom-museumbezoekers-de-meeste-teksten-niet-lezen",{"type":17,"children":251,"toc":468},[252,257,262,268,284,289,294,300,313,342,347,364,370,375,380,394,399,404,410,433,438,452,458,463],{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":253,"children":254},{},[255],{"type":25,"value":256},"Imagine spending months crafting the wall texts for a new exhibition. Every sentence carefully written, every fact checked, every description tailored to the collection. The opening is a success. And yet — most visitors walk right past them.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":258,"children":259},{},[260],{"type":25,"value":261},"This isn't a pessimistic scenario. It's what research shows, time and time again.",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":263,"children":265},{"id":264},"what-the-numbers-say",[266],{"type":25,"value":267},"What the numbers say",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":269,"children":270},{},[271,273,282],{"type":25,"value":272},"The most authoritative study on this topic comes from Beverly Serrell, who in 1998 analyzed tracking-and-timing data from ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":275,"children":279},"a",{"href":276,"rel":277},"https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Paying-Attention%3A-Visitors-and-Museum-Exhibitions-Serrell/f128e3d09f9809cd566cf2b0f2be5fff946f29f4",[278],"nofollow",[280],{"type":25,"value":281},"110 different exhibitions",{"type":25,"value":283},". Her conclusion: the average visitor looks at only about one third of all exhibition elements. Exhibitions where more than half of visitors genuinely stopped to read — what she called \"diligent visitors\" — were exceptionally rare.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":285,"children":286},{},[287],{"type":25,"value":288},"And of the labels visitors do briefly glance at? The average reading stop lasts 2 seconds. A motivated reader might manage 15 to 30 seconds. Across an entire exhibition, the average visitor reads roughly 20 to 30 percent of all text on offer.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":290,"children":291},{},[292],{"type":25,"value":293},"These are not exceptions. This is the norm.",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":295,"children":297},{"id":296},"why-visitors-skip-text",[298],{"type":25,"value":299},"Why visitors skip text",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":301,"children":302},{},[303,305,311],{"type":25,"value":304},"It's tempting to attribute this to disinterest. But research paints a more nuanced picture: visitors often ",{"type":20,"tag":306,"props":307,"children":308},"em",{},[309],{"type":25,"value":310},"want",{"type":25,"value":312}," to learn more — they're simply working against an environment that makes it difficult.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":314,"children":315},{},[316,318,328,330,340],{"type":25,"value":317},"As far back as 1916, Benjamin Ives Gilman described in ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":319,"children":322},{"href":320,"rel":321},"https://archive.org/details/jstor-6127",[278],[323],{"type":20,"tag":306,"props":324,"children":325},{},[326],{"type":25,"value":327},"The Scientific Monthly",{"type":25,"value":329}," how the physical demands of a museum visit exhaust visitors: crouching for low-hanging labels, craning for high ones, walking endless distances. A century later, Stephen Bitgood confirmed in ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":331,"children":334},{"href":332,"rel":333},"https://www.routledge.com/Attention-and-Value-Keys-to-Understanding-Museum-Visitors/Bitgood/p/book/9781611322637",[278],[335],{"type":20,"tag":306,"props":336,"children":337},{},[338],{"type":25,"value":339},"Attention and Value",{"type":25,"value":341}," (2013) that fatigue has multiple causes — physical exhaustion, overstimulation, and decision fatigue from an environment full of competing choices.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":343,"children":344},{},[345],{"type":25,"value":346},"On top of that comes cognitive overload. A museum gallery is visually complex: objects, lighting, other visitors, wayfinding — all of these stimuli place demands on working memory. Reading text requires additional cognitive capacity that simply isn't available in that moment. The brain makes a rapid cost-benefit calculation, and a dense wall of text almost always loses it.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":348,"children":349},{},[350,352,362],{"type":25,"value":351},"Then there's the social dimension. John Falk and Lynn Dierking demonstrated in ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":353,"children":356},{"href":354,"rel":355},"https://books.google.com/books/about/Learning_from_Museums.html?id=sfJqDwAAQBAJ",[278],[357],{"type":20,"tag":306,"props":358,"children":359},{},[360],{"type":25,"value":361},"Learning from Museums",{"type":25,"value":363}," (2000) that museum visits are fundamentally social experiences. Most people come with someone else. Shared conversation — \"look at this\", \"what do you think?\" — commands more attention than solitary reading. Reading a label quietly is, by definition, a momentarily anti-social act.",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":365,"children":367},{"id":366},"what-actually-works",[368],{"type":25,"value":369},"What actually works",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":371,"children":372},{},[373],{"type":25,"value":374},"The good news: the problem is well understood, and there are concrete solutions that work.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":376,"children":377},{},[378],{"type":25,"value":379},"The most obvious is also the least applied: cut ruthlessly. Serrell's recommendation, backed by decades of field research, is object labels of no more than 50 to 75 words and main interpretive panels of no more than 150 to 200 words. Every word must earn its place. The more you cut, the more gets read.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":381,"children":382},{},[383,385,392],{"type":25,"value":384},"More interesting is what happens when you change the tone. A study by Hohenstein and Tran, conducted at the ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":386,"children":389},{"href":387,"rel":388},"https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09500690701494068",[278],[390],{"type":25,"value":391},"Natural History Museum in London",{"type":25,"value":393}," (2007), compared labels framed as open questions — \"Why do you think...?\" or \"What do you notice when you look closely?\" — with descriptive, declarative text. The questions generated significantly more conversation and engagement. Visitors are invited to think alongside the exhibit, rather than passively receive it.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":395,"children":396},{},[397],{"type":25,"value":398},"The structure of information matters too. The most effective exhibitions offer multiple levels at once: a key sentence for the casual viewer, a short text for those who want a bit more, and deeper content via a QR code or audio guide for the true enthusiasts. No one is overwhelmed. Depth is available for those who seek it.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":400,"children":401},{},[402],{"type":25,"value":403},"And then there's the writing style itself. Research from the Exploratorium in San Francisco shows that narrative texts — with a beginning, middle, and end, or with a human perspective — hold visitors' attention longer and generate more meaning than factual listings. The brain is wired for stories, not for catalogue descriptions.",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":405,"children":407},{"id":406},"digital-guides-and-the-adoption-problem",[408],{"type":25,"value":409},"Digital guides and the adoption problem",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":411,"children":412},{},[413,415,422,424,431],{"type":25,"value":414},"The most striking results come from experiments with interactive digital tools. The Cleveland Museum of Art carefully documented the impact of its ArtLens system: ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":416,"children":419},{"href":417,"rel":418},"https://news.artnet.com/art-world/cleveland-museum-art-studied-digital-engagement-visitors-results-encouragin-1567123",[278],[420],{"type":25,"value":421},"average viewing time per artwork",{"type":25,"value":423}," rose from 2–3 seconds to approximately 15 seconds. Broader research shows that audio guides increase average museum visit duration by ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":425,"children":428},{"href":426,"rel":427},"https://www.tryfootnote.com/insights/how-mobile-tools-are-transforming-museums-and-the-data-to-prove-it",[278],[429],{"type":25,"value":430},"approximately 43 percent",{"type":25,"value":432},".",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":434,"children":435},{},[436],{"type":25,"value":437},"The reason lies in the structure: digital guides deliver layered content on demand, in multiple languages, adapted to the visitor's level of knowledge — without the physical space needing to be covered in text.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":439,"children":440},{},[441,443,450],{"type":25,"value":442},"There is one important caveat. Only ",{"type":20,"tag":274,"props":444,"children":447},{"href":445,"rel":446},"https://www.nubart.eu/audio-guides/museum-audio-guide-app-adoption-rates.html",[278],[448],{"type":25,"value":449},"2.47 percent of museum visitors",{"type":25,"value":451}," download a dedicated museum app during their visit. The technology works — the barrier to access is the real problem. Solutions that require no download, such as QR codes that open directly in the browser, therefore achieve significantly higher adoption rates.",{"type":20,"tag":104,"props":453,"children":455},{"id":454},"the-problem-isnt-the-visitor",[456],{"type":25,"value":457},"The problem isn't the visitor",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":459,"children":460},{},[461],{"type":25,"value":462},"The conclusion of a century of research is actually quite simple: visitors aren't uninterested. They're human. They get tired, they get distracted, they're there with someone else. Traditional wall labels are designed for an ideal visitor who reads in silence, never tires, and always visits alone. That visitor doesn't exist.",{"type":20,"tag":21,"props":464,"children":465},{},[466],{"type":25,"value":467},"What does work: less text, better questions, information in layers, and digital tools that don't add friction. That's not a technological revolution — it's listening to how people actually move through a museum.",{"title":8,"searchDepth":38,"depth":38,"links":469},[470,471,472,473,474],{"id":264,"depth":38,"text":267},{"id":296,"depth":38,"text":299},{"id":366,"depth":38,"text":369},{"id":406,"depth":38,"text":409},{"id":454,"depth":38,"text":457},"content:en:blog:why-museum-visitors-dont-read-most-texts.md","en/blog/why-museum-visitors-dont-read-most-texts.md","en/blog/why-museum-visitors-dont-read-most-texts",{"loc":243},1794131115497]