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Toward Relational Interactivity: Investigating More-than-Human Engagement in Hybrid Museological Spaces

delete2026-06-17
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PRE
AI
P
Pedro Galvão-Ferreira *
M
Marta Ferreira *
Y
Yu Liu
N
Noura Kräuter
T
Teresa Paulino
B
Beste Soybilge
N
Nuno Nunes
U
Ulrike Spierling
V
Valentina Nisi
DOI:10.1080/10447318.2026.2684277delete
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Abstract

Abstract

En 中文
This paper investigates how interactive technologies can cultivate more-than-human (MtH) engagement within natural history museums when conceptualized as hybrid museological spaces. Responding to ecological and posthuman turns in HCI and museum studies, we present a comparative, in-the-wild study of five interactive prototypes – an AI conversational agent, an interactive visual narrative installation, a collaborative story-driven board game, and two augmented reality experiences (based on MtH interactions in the museum floor and outdoor garden) – designed to foster relational encounters between humans, technologies, and nonhumans. Drawing on qualitative data from seventy-one visitors, we identify six overarching themes that elucidate the experiential qualities through which MtH relations were negotiated, including nonhuman co-participation, situated ecologies of participation, affective-ethical entanglements, and narrative co-storying. Synthesizing these insights, we propose relational interactivity as a strong concept that shifts focus from individualized, system-centered interaction toward distributed agency, shared perceptual access, and ecological attunement, offering new directions for multispecies heritage technologies.
Keywords:
Natureculture
more-than-human
posthuman
cultural heritage
natural heritage
• Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI

Journal

I
International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction
IF:
0
Papers:
329
Citations:
0

Organization

RheinMain University of Applied Sciences cover
RheinMain University of Applied Sciences
Scholars:
23
Papers: 10
Citations: 115
U
university of lisbon
Scholars:
460
Papers: 222
Citations: 0