How we built an online exhibition
The Archaeological Museum in Hamburg is home to 1.5 million historical objects. To tell the history of Hamburg with them in the future, we have developed a digital kit for the employees of the museum – and the first story was built with it by us.
A Digital Exhibition for the Museum
“Quality before quantity” was our goal from the beginning. The Archaeological Museum of Hamburg has more than 120 years of experience in telling the city’s history and they gave us three challenges:
- Condense the vast experience into a compact form for the public
- Have it permanently accessible
- Recreate the page as a knowledge hub
Interaction with the user was key: Deep research into any subject was more important than to generate as many clicks as possible. We appreciated this sustainable approach and were very happy to work with that.
Digital Tool for Storytelling
Based on the WordPress CMS, we developed our own plugin, which was then adapted to the individual needs of the Archaeological Museum Hamburg. The result is the format Webstory and its introduction was the implementation of the exhibition on Hammaburg – an ancient fortress and the origin of Hamburg 1200 years ago.
It was quite a challenge to create a digital hub that addresses historically interested people in Hamburg, culture-loving tourists, researching students, but also historians. The page is meant to be an easy introduction to the topic and a deeper learning resource. We solved this for example by creating interactive fields that add or omit information as required, so that reading flow can be individually designed.
The Webstory format is a playful approach to history, but always remains scientifically accurate.
In the future, this format can deepen the content of the museum’s special exhibitions. The content prepares readers for a visit and it can help with further research. Even after an exhibition has ended, it can continue online, always.