The meSch tools

If you have an idea for an exhibition and you would like to bring that idea further, start co-designing it together with colleagues, designers, technical staff and other people involved in that exhibition. We developed the codesign.website and a booklet that provides you with the basics of co-design, templates, experiences and other relevant sources to get you started. Read more about this on our blog and on the codesign.website.

Once you’ve created a concept of the exhibition, you can start designing the interaction and selecting the content. Several tools have been developed for this purpose last year. The meSchcloud stores all the data generated within the meSch environment: interaction scripts, templates or recipes as we call them, links to the content, etc. meSchup is the platform for the technical staff to manage the various devices that are part of the exhibition.

With the meSchmaker (working title), you create the actual interaction between the various objects, the content that is shown and different perspectives on the exhibition. We’ve collected different recipes that can be reused. You can integrate your own content or search through content from Europeana, the Allard Pierson Museum and other sources. There is also search recommendations available that helps you browse through huge collections. The meSchkit contains a selection of devices you can use to develop prototypes and program the interaction without using code.

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Other highlights

• A lot of work has been done regarding personalisation and extending the museum visit with online experiences. You can read more about this on the blog.
• Three case studies in the Museo della Guerra, the Allard Pierson Museum and the Museon. These cases are thoroughly tested and evaluated through qualitative and quantitative methods. The results will be ready in April 2016.

Activities next year

meSch has now entered its final year and we’ve planned some exciting events and will continue to develop the meSch services, for instance:

• Release of the meSchmaker and the meSch portal.
• Templates and guidelines for evaluating your own exhibitions.
• Three Authoring Feasts for cultural heritage professionals where they will use the meSch technology to create smart exhibitions in the context of a Fablab.