As the impact of COVID-19 emerged in early 2020 and physical movement was restricted as a public health measure, digital media consumption behaviour changed dramatically. The accelerated move to online consumption increased the urgency for memory institutions such as museums to introduce new ways to digitally experience cultural collections. This research aimed to understand how memory institutions adapted during COVID-19 lockdowns by surveying the existing and novel digital resources that enabled access to cultural heritage organizations. The research was conducted during the UK lockdown period (April-July 2020) when we collected and analysed data from 83 heritage institutions in the UK and in the USA regarding the number, type, format, intended audience and intended aims of digital engagement opportunities they offered. The analysis evidences how different types of memory institutions responded to social need during the lockdown by supporting online visitors with resources such as educational material, live events and creative activities, and highlights where museums have acted effectively and where changed approaches are indicated.

Three-dimensional (3D) puzzles of heritage artefacts are typically used to engage audiences in the interpretation of archaeological objects in a museum gallery. The reason for this is that a puzzle can be seen as an enjoyable educational activity in the form of a game but also as a complex activity that archaeologists undertake when re-assembling fragments, for instance, of broken pottery. Until now the creation of this type of experiences is mostly a manual process and the artefacts used rarely reflect those in the collection due to the complex nature of the process. The contribution of this article is a novel digital worfklow for the design and fabrication of 3D puzzles that overcomes these limitations. The input to the workflow is an authentic artefact from a heritage collection, which is then digitised using technologies such as 3D scanning and 3D modelling. Thereafter, a puzzle generator system produces the puzzle pieces using a cell fracture algorithm and generates a set of puzzle pieces (female) and a single core piece (male) for fabrication. Finally, the pieces are fabricated using 3D printing technology and post-processed to facilitate the puzzle assembly. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed novel workflow, we deployed it to create a puzzle activity of the Saltdean urn, which is exhibited at the Archaeology Gallery of the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. The workflow is also used with further artefacts to demonstrate its applicability to other shapes. The significance of this research is that it eases the task of creating puzzle-like activities and maintaining them in the long term within a busy public space such as a museum gallery.

This research explores technologically advanced means to enhance audiences’ connection with cultural heritage assets through participatory creative methods that particularly reinforce young people’s sense of identity and well-being during sensitive “transitional” periods of their lives. Hence, the research investigates how communities can meaningfully connect with cultural heritage through creative experiences, while aiming at lowering the entry barriers to increasing audiences’ participation. For this, the research deploys narrative approaches to illuminate different viewpoints and interpretations of cultural heritage within communities. The contribution of the article is twofold, as it includes a novel approach for developing and re-telling communities’ narratives linked to people, objects, sites, and events in the urban landscape. At the same time, it proposes a workflow to digitise and communicate these narratives through Augmented Reality (AR) Maps by proposing methods for digitisation and producing physical printed elements for the experience. These physical elements are then augmented with digital narratives, delivered through Immersive Web technology. This concept is proposed as a means to document and disseminate the narratives in a way that enhances the public understanding and appreciation of objects and sites. The approach was tested with a class of children in a local primary school in Brighton and Hove (UK) to understand its suitability for community engagement, targeting young audiences. The significance of the research is that it demonstrates the potential of the synergy between creative and digital approaches for enabling meaningful engagement with the cultural heritage while improving the well-being of the participants as well as their sense of community and place.

This paper investigates digitally fabricated replicas and how these contribute as novel interpretative means to support visitor experiences in cultural heritage contexts. The paper's main contribution is the evaluation of the experience that visually impaired users had with a 3d printed relief of a Victorian environmental display, or diorama, from the Booth Museum of Natural History in Brighton (UK) along with a pervasive audio mobile application. Our intention is to illuminate the subtleties, interests and learning through experiences with objects and supporting interpretative applications in the cultural heritage sector.

This paper describes the design of a tool to allow children to create their own Augmented Reality (AR) content as part of creative engagement with their local environment. We are exploring AR Maps (physical maps with augmented digital content) as a way of documenting children's experiences of their local area and encouraging their understanding and appreciation of objects and sites in their communities. We have piloted the approach with children in a local primary school, with positive feedback. However, children were not able to create the AR content themselves, and their physical artwork had to be scanned by researchers. In this paper we give an overview of the design context and describe the design and implementation of a tool to allow children to create their own 3D models for the AR environment by digitising their own artwork.