The art of play: exploring the roles of technology and social play in museums

In this chapter we explore play as a structure to support visitor learning, drawing from international research in museums and interaction design. Play is a key element in cultural development, according to the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. We explore four aspects of play first proposed by Huizinga (2002) – the free-choice aspect of play, play as distinct from real life, play as an ordering structure, and the role of play in bridging communities. We argue that play provides museums with ready-made structures and concepts, which can help plan for visitor learning.