ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies a shift from the sensory museum to the sensing museum. The sensory museum has long operated in a mode whereby it has endeavoured to stimulate the physical senses of visitors in order to extend and share learning pedagogies. The sensing museum, in contrast, refers to the use of devices that automatically track and respond to how people experience the institution. Using digital devices, people create an online representation of themselves that serves as a potential source of information for the museum to mine and personalise for customised engagement. The analysis that follows draws on interviews with cultural professionals and ethnographic observation at the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, Australia, to examine how these institutions are designing devices and architectures that employ hybrid forms of surveillance for the purpose of personalising cultural experiences. Core to this discussion is the idea that the growth of the internet has altered understandings about physical visitation.
