In a world increasingly dominated by digital interactions and screen time, the value of genuine human connection has never been more significant. In this blog we’ll explore why connection matters in museums and how museum facilitators can prioritise meaningful connections in their guided experiences.
Why connection matters now more than ever
Take a moment to think about your daily life. Most of our interactions happen through screens. We scroll through social media. We send quick texts, quick messages. We join video calls. And since the COVID pandemic, many of our habits around connecting with others have fundamentally shifted.
More and more of our shared experiences are being replaced by solitary ones. This might mean:
- Watching or streaming films at home instead of in a cinema
- Ordering a takeaway instead of eating out with friends
- Joining online classes rather than learning together in person
While digital technology keeps us in touch, many of our opportunities for spontaneous face-to-face connection have decreased. Even in physical spaces, the quality of our interactions varies greatly as we struggle with being present while fighting digital distractions.
The impact of this disconnection is significant. Loneliness and social isolation have become major public health concerns affecting not just our emotional wellbeing, but our physical health too. As Claire reminds us, “We are social creatures. We need meaningful connection to thrive. It’s as essential to us as food and shelter.”
Museums as spaces for connection
This is where museums can play a crucial role. Museums offer unique opportunities for meaningful human connection—spaces where people can come together around objects, ideas, and shared experiences in ways that digital interactions simply can’t replicate.
When visitors engage with art and objects in museums, they’re not only connecting with the objects themselves but also with the human stories, emotions, and experiences they represent. When they do this alongside others, they’re engaging in what Claire calls “shared visual inquiry.”
The three foundations of the Thinking Museum approach
In her book, The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums, Claire outlines three foundations that work together to create engagement:
- Observation and noticing
- Shared visual inquiry
- Personal discovery
Shared visual inquiry involves creating a space where participants can connect and engage with each other, with the artwork or object, and explore meaning together. Unlike traditional gallery talks where an “expert” shares knowledge with a passive audience, guided experiences founded on shared visual inquiry feel completely different:
- People aren’t just standing and listening; they’re actively looking, thinking, responding, and building on each other’s ideas
- The focus shifts from the educator as the information holder to the group as co-creators of meaning
- Everyone’s perspective becomes valuable; everyone’s observations matter
Connection before content
Claire emphasizes the principle of “connection before content”—an idea from organizational designer Peter Block that she’s implemented into every area of her practice. In museums, this means making conscious efforts to:
- Connect people to each other
- Connect participants to the facilitator
- Connect participants to the museum and collection
- Connect people to the program’s purpose
- Create a warm and inviting space
These five layers of connection create the conditions for meaningful engagement to flourish.
The six essential strategies for creating connection
In her approach to building meaningful connections, Jessica Gifford outlines what she calls the ‘Six Essential Strategies for Creating Connection.’
Here’s how we might apply these Six S’s to our work in the museum:
1. Small
Connection happens most effectively in smaller, intimate settings. In museum programmes, this might mean:
- Breaking larger groups into pairs or trios for discussions
- Limiting guided experiences to 15 persons or less
- Creating moments for one-to-one interaction even within larger groups
2. Structured
Having clear frameworks guides interaction and helps everyone feel comfortable participating. In my work, I use two key structural approaches drawn from my Thinking Museum® Approach:
- The 3 phases of a guided experience: Entry, Exploration and Exit
- 10 Questioning Practices to structure discussions around artworks
I use the 3 Phases of a Guided Experience (Entry, Exploration, and Exit) when designing the structure of my guided experiences. It provides an overall arc that creates a sense of safety and progression throughout the programme as a whole.
I use my Questioning Practices to help structure individual discussions around artworks and objects. These flexible frameworks give participants clear paths for everyone to engage.
Questioning Practices offer progressive questioning that builds confidence gradually – moving from observations that anyone can make to deeper interpretations and personal connections.
For more on Questioning Practices, see here and here.
3. Sustained over time
Events that continue over time allow relationships to ‘build in the in-between’ rather than through one-off encounters. In museums, this might include:
- Programme series where the same participants return multiple times
- Multi-visit courses
- Museum clubs
- Community partnerships
Even with one-time experiences, facilitators can plant seeds for future connection by inviting participants to return for related or future programmes.
4. Shared experiences
Gifford emphasises that connection happens when we engage in activities together rather than simply being in the same space. In museum guided experiences, this is precisely what Shared Visual Inquiry offers – a collaborative process of discovery where everyone contributes to building meaning around an artwork or object. When we look closely at an artwork together, share observations, build on each other’s ideas, and construct a collective understanding, we’re creating the conditions for genuine connection. This is why we focus on facilitation techniques that invite active participation. When someone shares an observation and sees others respond to and build upon it, they feel that they are seen and heard. The magic happens when participants begin responding not just to you as the facilitator, but directly to each other, creating a web of connections within the group.
I think of this as ‘opening the circle‘ – it’s that wonderful moment when you notice participants are no longer directing all their comments to you, but are engaging directly with each other’s ideas. You’ll see it in their body language – they turn to face someone who’s just spoken, they nod in recognition of a shared insight, or they reference each other’s observations: “What you just said makes me think…” or “I see something different from what you noticed…”
When this happens, you’re facilitating invisibly – you are still guiding the experience, but allowing connections to form naturally between participants. You’re creating the conditions for these interactions without needing to be involved in every exchange.
5. Self-disclosure
Creating openings for people to talk about themselves, their interests, and who they are beyond the immediate context accelerates the process of connection. In museums, this means offering opportunities for participants to share something about their lives and perspectives.
When facilitated thoughtfully, self-disclosure speeds up the process of getting to know each other and fosters empathy and closeness within the group. This doesn’t mean pushing participants to reveal personal information before they’re ready. Instead, it’s really about creating gentle invitations and warm, comfortable spaces where sharing feels natural.
In The Connections Triangle Questioning Practice, for example, I invite participants to share ways they personally connect with an artwork, object, topic or theme or the discussion we’ve just had. I don’t force these connections – sometimes asking participants to write down a sentence or two on a post-it note and then inviting people to share if they feel comfortable. It’s always optional.
As facilitators, we can also model this by occasionally offering our own personal connections, which can encourage participants to do the same. Just be aware that our self-disclosure should open doors for others rather than dominate the conversation. The goal is to create possibilities for connection.
6. Safe
Trust is the foundation of healthy connection. Psychological safety creates an atmosphere that allows people to be themselves by valuing their experiences, voice, and perspectives. In museums, this means creating an environment where:
- Every participant feels their comments are welcomed and respected
- There are no wrong answers
- Everyone’s contribution is valued
Psychological safety isn’t about avoiding challenging topics or differences of opinion. Rather, it’s a foundation from which to engage in difficult conversations. When participants feel psychologically safe, they’re more willing to take risks in their thinking, share tentative ideas, and engage authentically with challenging artwork or complex themes.
I explored this topic in depth in this post, Building Trust and Psychological Safety on Guided Experiences in Museums. But in brief, creating safety starts with how we set up the experience from the beginning in the Entry phase – explicitly welcoming all perspectives, modelling respectful responses to every contribution, and establishing clear expectations for how we’ll engage together.
Think about how you might intentionally incorporate these 6 elements – small, structured, sustained over time, shared experiences, self-disclosure, and safe – into your museum experiences to establish connections on multiple levels – between visitors, with the facilitator, with the artworks themselves, and with the museum as a whole
The benefits of prioritising connection
When we prioritise connections in museum experiences, several important things happen:
- Visitors form deeper relationships with collections – When we connect personally with a painting or historical object, it stops being just another item and becomes something with meaning in our lives.
- Participants connect with each other – Strangers can enter a gallery not acknowledging each other but leave exchanging contact information or continuing conversations—meaningful encounters that are increasingly rare in today’s world.
- Participants develop a sense of belonging – This sense of belonging encourages repeat visits and fosters long-term relationships with the museum.
Conclusion
Think about how you might put connection before content in your own practice. How might you use the 6 S’s – Small, Structured, Sustained over time, Shared Experiences, Self-Disclosure, and Safe – to create more meaningful connections in your guided experiences? How might you shift your focus from covering content, themes and ideas to facilitating connection?
Because ultimately, as the saying goes, while your participants might forget the names and dates you share, they’ll remember how they felt in your museum. They’ll remember the connections they made. And these moments of human connection might be the most valuable thing we can offer.
For more resources on engagement techniques in museums, find Claire Bown on Instagram @ThinkingMuseum. Her book, “The Art Engager: Reimagining Guided Experiences in Museums,” is available wherever books are sold.