Meidänkin museoon sellainen härveli

kolme kertomusta merellisistä simulaattoreista näyttelyssä

Authors

• Aaro Sahari

Abstract

"One of those thingies for our museum": Three stories about maritime simulators in exhibitions

Developing simulators for museum exhibitions calls for cooperation between museum professionals, academic researchers and software developers. Three such simulators were built for exhibitions in the Maritime Centre Vellamo in 2009–2012. The simulators – Virtual Naval Battles, Re-Discovering Vrouw Maria, and the Straddle carrier – provide a window into the making of these historical simulators, the decisions that define goals, and the issues in communication that limit development. Understanding the development process as a discussion between three parties with distinct goals allows us to examine how historical information is used in developing simulators. Lack of common language and shared understanding of goals not only hinders development but can also limit creativity to begin with. Researchers are rarely available to provide much needed quality control. Museum professionals rarely see these simulators as an integral part of the exhibition. Finally, developers often lack knowledge on content to help tie the simulation to the exhibition. A shared understanding of each other’s roles is fundamental in making the most of simulators in museum exhibitions.