museum4punkt0: Trying out & sharing digital education

As part of a showcase, the project partners of the joint project museum4punkt0 presented their applications developed since 2017 in Berlin today. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, who opened the day, said: "We also need to think more sustainably about cultural education. That's why I'm pleased that this idea plays such an important role at museum4punkt0 and that cooperations are being promoted with this unique concept." The project partners also make their innovative work available to other institutions for subsequent use.

27 projects from museums of different orientations from all over Germany gave an insight into the range of possibilities of digital cultural mediation. Isabel Pfeiffer-Poensgen, Minister for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and Chairwoman of the Conference of the Ministers of Culture of the States, added: "In addition to adequate technical equipment, the further development of digitisation in the museum sector requires above all an exchange of experience and knowledge transfer. With its 27 sub-projects, museum4punkt0 does just that: museums of very different orientations pool expertise, inspire each other and share their findings. It is precisely the breadth of the participating museums, which is representative of the diversity of museums throughout Germany, that ensures a sustainable strengthening of digitality."

Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation: "The joint project offers great opportunities for smaller museums in particular, because they can reuse existing applications and adapt them to their needs. I am pleased that the SPK can once again successfully fulfil its overall national task through cooperation with a wide variety of cultural institutions. We can only achieve the digital cultural change together."

In the joint project museum4punkt0, the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation) networks museums across Germany with different orientations in the development of digital applications for the interactive and participatory communication of cultural heritage. All project results are made available for subsequent use, and the transfer of knowledge to the German museum and cultural landscape takes place alongside the project. In addition to providing ready-to-use or adaptable applications, the teams share practical findings at public events and support other institutions, for example with experience reports, advice and apps. The intensive, collegial exchange and the interdisciplinary expertise bundled in the network make museum4punkt0 a sustainable digital project.

The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media has been funding the collaborative project since 2017 on the basis of a decision by the German Bundestag and enabled the continuation and expansion to 27 sub-projects in a third funding phase as part of NEUSTART KULTUR 2022. Nine new institutions from other federal states were included in the funding in March 2022. Four of the new partners work in tandem projects with previous partners specifically on the further development and re-usability of the project results for other institutions. Collaborative partners who have completed their projects will participate as associated partners in the future. In total, federal funding has thus amounted to 30 million euros since 2017.

The spectrum of applications developed in museum4punkt0 ranges from tools for individual access to the outdoor space with augmented reality elements, virtual reality offerings, participatory platforms, to citizen science apps or playful access to content and objects. Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth tested some examples during a tour:
For example, the interactive game station "LEIPZIG '89 - REVOLUTION RELOADED", which was developed by the museum4punkt0 team of the German Historical Museum. In the format of a graphic novel, users can play through 9 October 1989 in Leipzig in seven different roles and influence the events of the day with their decisions.

As a partner in museum4punkt0, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar has realised two projects of its own. The main focus was on the question of mediation possibilities through digital applications in and outside museum spaces.

The application "Aufgeschlagen! Discover Book Treasures in the Rococo Room" allows visitors to the Rococo Room in the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library to take selected historical books off the shelf digitally and take a look inside. The offer thus responds to the wish expressed by guests to learn more about the books. You can already use the application in the Weimar+ app.

The project "k:evatool" examines the conditions for success of digital mediation offers. Especially in times of lockdown, many services have been shifted to the digital realm. But who are the users? How do digital offers have to be designed in order to be attractive? In order to address such questions directly to the digital audience, the k:evatool was developed, a digital evaluation tool for cultural offerings. Surveys can be created with a simple control system and connected directly via an interface to the digital mediation offers.

"Ping! Die Museumsapp" of the Badisches Landesmuseum offers a chat with an object in the museum and thus enables an emotional, personal approach. The app has been used and further developed in the museum4punkt0 network and far beyond. In the app adaptation "My object - Senckenberg", users can also chat from home with the otter, wild boar and sundew of the Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz and later playfully explore them in the museum.

Filming with a camera filter like in the 1920s and experiencing Berlin film history at historical film locations: this is what the augmented reality application "On Set" offers, which is being developed by the museum4punkt0 team of the Deutsche Kinemathek - Museum für Film und Fernsehen. At Potsdamer Platz, Alexanderplatz and Heinrichplatz in Kreuzberg, users experience an interplay of reality, virtual projections and historical film sets.

Using your own smartphone as a find detector to explore an archaeological research field: The app developed by the team from Varusschlacht im Osnabrücker Land - Museum und Park Kalkriese offers interactive exploration of the 11-hectare museum park, whose archaeological finds point to the site of the Varus Battle, tailored to individual interests and prior knowledge.

All sub-projects in the museum4punkt0 network: www.museum4punkt0.de/teilprojekte/  
Press photos: www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html

Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag.