The modern museum continually transforms, reflecting broader social, political, and technological shifts. Post-colonial critiques, intangible cultural heritage, and the mass digitisation of collections underscore the need for new methods to mediate contextualised knowledge embedded within collections through narrative forms, moving beyond traditional object-centered modes of display. This work examines how augmented exhibition can enact digital storytelling through proxemic interactions in embedded hybrid spaces. Specifically, we examine how proxemics (the study of the social and cultural use of space) can inform the design of augmented exhibitions delivered through head-mounted displays. We translate structural and semantic aspects of proxemic interaction into a design framework for augmented exhibitions, leading to the concept of actionspaces.

A major turning point in the way additional content is provided in exhibitions came with the enrichment of the exhibition experience with digital content. Interactive Museum Installations (IMI) were created, which now, 10 years later, need to rethink usability, technology and design. But what needs to be changed? How is the current presentation and communication of content perceived by visitors? With this case study of the IMI of the Türckische Cammer of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (Dresden State Art Collections, SKD), we present an approach that considers both the content and the visitor, incorporating characteristics that are taken into account when redesigning the IMI.

Elastic displays afford a natural stacking of information layers in their haptic interaction space. So far, research has focused on technical issues and interaction concepts by pushing and pulling the surface of such displays. We report a study with 24 participants that investigates the feasibility and limitations of interaction with 6 to 21 layers. We measured completion times and error rates for reaching and holding specific target layers and observed performed gestures. Our findings show that solution time increases with more layers while precision is maintained with a mean success rate of holding a layer of 70 %, even when using up to 21 layers. User experience measurements show that hedonic qualities of the interaction were rated higher than pragmatic qualities. Our investigation proves the general feasibility of using layer-based interaction with an elastic display and provides guidelines on the limitations.

The translation of exhibitions into digital space has become increasingly important in recent years. Further intensified by the COVID pandemic, many museums are looking for alternative solutions to make museum visits possible. In this way, they can continue to fulfil their role as an institution for the communication and presentation of cultural heritage as well as the transfer of knowledge. In an exhibition, the focus is on the exhibit with its inherent knowledge. The curators of the Office for Academic Heritage, Scientific and Art Collections of the TU Dresden, are keen to present the exhibitions that have already been held and those that are planned in an expanded setting. A virtual counterpart to the real exhibition space is to be created, which can also be filled independently of current exhibitions. As part of a course at the Faculty of Computer Science at TU Dresden, a concept for a virtual reality web application with an explorative, immersive character was developed. With the concepts of white plane and aura, the students created an open museum space that focuses on the exhibits and the knowledge transfer.