Engaging through Co-design in the Science Museum

Abstract

A co-design process that holds the potential to facilitate museum engagement is the topic of this article. I report from a series of workshops titled Science, Identity and Belonging, during which a group of museum professionals worked together with young people to co-design a museum activity. My attention here will be upon on engagement, and how it materializes in the meeting between museum staff and youths, in a creative development process consisting of a digital installation made in parallel to an exhibition. The co-design process in this case led to a product: a digital sound installation that complemented and connected to the exhibition FOLK – From Racial Types to DNA Sequences (2018–2019). I will explore engagement throughout the co-design process, looking closely at challenges and possibilities, while considering how both museum professionals and young people brought their investments into the process. I argue that this way of working may expand the understanding of what engagement for a young person at a museum can be, and what the role of a museum professional can entail. My findings lead me to conclude that co-design provides an opportunity to engage in joint actions that in turn strengthen the relations between the young people, objects, themes, and museum staff.