Research: Digital experiences at the People's History Museum
Helping visitors to understand what life was like for two women who led influential industrial action.
Summary
Research summary
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May 2019 - February 2022
Researchers helped develop two new digital experiences at the People’s History Museum in Manchester.
The interactive displays use digital to bring to life the 1888 Match Girls’ Strike and the Grunwick strike (1976–1978).
Both disputes saw working-class women fighting for rights and better conditions.
The first display places museum visitors on the production line of the Bryant & May match factory in east London, where most of the workers were girls under the age of 15. An arcade-style game gives a snapshot of what working life was like for the match girls. It also helps visitors understand what would lead to strike action and the leading role of social reformer Annie Besant.
The second experience uses augmented reality (AR) to let visitors investigate the story of Jayaben Desai and her role within the Grunwick strike. Lasting for almost two years, the dispute was sparked over an issue of working conditions, but quickly spread to wider questions of institutional racism and inequality.
Visitors use AR-enabled cameras to examine artefacts and hear the voices of those involved, helping to paint the picture of what happened and why the Grunwick strike is recognised as such a turning point in for race relations in the workplace.
Research outputs
Conference presentations
- Miguel, S, Swenson, A and Jung, T (2020) History Makers - Implementing bespoke digital experiences for museum audiences utilising immersive and interactive media, at the 6th International AR VR Conference, 19-20 November 2022, Online
- Jung, T, Trunfio, M and Campana, S (2022) Serious game reality and industrial museum: The ‘Bryant & May Match Factory’ project in the Peoples’ History Museum (UK). 7th International XR Conference, 27-29 April, 2022, Lisbon
News articles
Team
Research team
Lead researcher
Co-researchers
Funding
With funding from
People's History Museum
Contacts
Contact us
For general enquiries about our Digital Transformation knowledge platform, Creative AR-VR hub or this project, you can contact lead researcher Prof Timothy Jung.
