On 7 August 1908, a team led by Josef Szombathy discovered one of the most famous archaeological finds of all time: the Venus of Willendorf. This figure is over 29,000 years old and has been on display at the Natural History Museum in Vienna since 2015. But what if you could trace the history of Venus in all its facets with just one click? The interactive platform ‘Beyond the Item’ makes this possible. It is just one example of the traces the ongoing digitisation in museums around the globe.

Karen Kastenhofer, Senior Scientist at the Institute for Technology Assessment (ITA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, spent a year investigating how the new wave of digital approaches is affecting life science research in museums in her project ‘The Natural History Museum Vienna as a hub of bio-digitalisation’. How can we avoid the risk of hastily replacing analogue sources with digital ones? How can digital transformations be designed in such a way that the results are scientifically dependable and socially beneficial? And does this ultimately change the role of the museum itself?

“In my research on digital transformation, the identity and specific characteristics of the various museums and institutions play an important role”, says Kastenhofer. "The Natural History Museum Vienna strives in many ways to engage in dialogue with other research institutions and with visitors. This includes making research open and transparent and communicating it to the outside world. Experts at the museum are trying new approaches. Assessing the various possibilities for digital transformation is also important for other institutions."

For Kastenhofer, it is clear that the strength of digital approaches lies less in saving resources than in opening up additional new opportunities. "Quick and cheap solutions often result in a loss of quality and functionality. In many cases, digitisation cannot and should not replace analogue objects, but rather complement them. Its implementation can give rise to new problems or reopen existing ones. Therefore, appreciation, attention and resources are needed to strengthen the character and social significance of museums through digital alternatives."

Kastenhofer has summarised important project results in the  ITA dossier "Digitising Nature", keep on reading here.

Further links

ITA project: Bio-digitisation in museums

Beyond the Item