Beyond the Glass Case: How Emerging Tech Is Reimagining Museums

Museums have always been more than mere repositories of artefacts. They are cultural gateways;  spaces where history, art, and human ingenuity converge to tell the stories of our past and inspire visions of our future. But as the world changes, so too are these vital institutions that are central to the preservation of such vital artefacts. Today, AI is changing the way museums are conceived, designed and experienced. As the digital age has taken over, museums are constantly striving to adopt new technologies and create exhibitions that speak to the young learners and dreamers of today. With AI, this just got far more cutting edge and far-reaching as museums use AI powered tools to change the way people experience history and shape the ideas of tomorrow. 

AI powered tools are helping museums redefine and reimagine how their visitors engage with their exhibits, allowing for a greater immersion and creating a link between digital media and the artefacts visitors are seeing right in front of them. At the very forefront of such efforts is the ArtLens Gallery at The Cleveland Museum of Art. The ArtLens Gallery combines the fantastic art from the Gallery with digital tools that allow ‘you, your family, and your friends to look closer, dive deeper, and have fun discovering the museum’s collection using award-winning digital technology’ (Cleveland Museum of Art). It achieves such results through engaging with various digital tools that allow visitors to make their own creations and engage with their favourite pieces all whilst mapping their journey through the gallery using the wayfinding technology. ArtLens Gallery offers a fantastic blend of AI powered digital tools whilst retaining the core elements of what makes museums and galleries so great, it provides an experience ‘which combines the museum's permanent collection and interactive technology, with the goal of inspiring visitors to connect with the museum’s collection with greater curiosity confidence, and understanding’ (Cleveland Museum of Art). The Cleveland Museum of Art is not the only one utilising AI to enhance visitor experience, with museums in the UK also doing the same. 

The Cambridge University’s Museum of Zoology has embraced AI to the fullest, allowing for some of the most immersive experiences to date. The museum has introduced an exhibit in which ‘More than a dozen exhibits, ranging from an American cockroach and the remnants of a dodo, to a stuffed red panda and a fin whale skeleton, will be granted the gift of conversation’ (Sample). In this exhibit, the animals were given unique personalities and accents and were able to converse through mobile phones with the visitors, enhancing the museum experience and sparking imagination in those who were able to encounter the exhibit. The museums assistant director said that ‘Museums are using AI in a lot of different ways, but we think this is the first application where we’re speaking from the object’s point of view,’ (Sample) with the aim of the exhibit being partially ‘to see whether, by giving these animals their own voices, people think differently about them. Can we change the public perception of a cockroach by giving it a voice?’(Sample). This is a clear demonstration that AI powered tools in museums are not only helping the experience of visitors and heightening their engagement with the exhibits but also changing the very way we think about the fossils and animals on display at museums, giving us a new way to experience the stories of their species. The exhibit at the Cambridge University’s Museum of Zoology was designed by Nature Perspectives which ‘ is building AI models to help strengthen the connection between people and the natural world’ (Sample), they have the expressed goal of ‘using AI to enable meaningful conversations with the natural world around us’ (Sample). This transformative approach will be applied across a broad spectrum—from public engagement in museums, botanic gardens, natural parks, and environmental storytelling to conservation campaigns, education, scientific research, legal representation, and beyond’ (“Nature Perspectives”), demonstrating a clear pathway for AI to become vitally important to the way in which we view and engage with nature, most namely in museums and natural parks. Hopefully, this new and inventive way of seeing animal species will become more widespread throughout museums and will serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing need for conservation efforts across the world. Such exhibits may inspire the conservationists of tomorrow to ensure that endangered species today do not go the way of the Dodo bird. 

Not only are AI powered tools changing the way visitors experience museums, but they are helping change the accessibility of museum exhibits, meaning that people from any kind of background can be inspired and educated by the engaging exhibits that feature in museums across the world. One such challenge to making museums accessible for all potential visitors is that some may have poor eyesight or unable to see, therefore limiting their ability to engage with the exhibits and artefacts, The Houston Museum of Natural Science has sought to answer this problem through its partnership with ReBokeh, designed to provide an innovate and accessible experience for visually impaired visitors. The free Rebokeh app ‘adds overlay filters on a live camera feed, making details clearer for those with low vision. Features include zoom, enhanced lighting and contrast adjustments’ (Patel), in addition to this, the ‘AI powered image description feature… provides instant text-based descriptions of objects’ (Patel) providing an accessible avenue for those with visual impairments to experience and enjoy all that the Houston Museum of Natural Science has to offer. This mission is especially vital because typical alternatives for visually impaired people rely on audio or touch, excluding those who prefer to experience exhibits or learn about history visually, ReBokeh founder, Rebecca Rosenberg spoke to this when she told AXIOS ‘I was always a visual learner, and when people tried to give me just audio options, it just didn't process in my brain…When we think about older adults who are maybe experiencing vision loss for one reason or another, they are oftentimes still trying to make use of that vision that they have’ (Patel). The campaign to ensure museums are accessible for everyone, is ongoing, but what is sure is that AI tools can, and do, play a vital part in this mission. Using AI to enhance accessibility is just one of the many ways AI can be used and embraced by humans to enhance and level up the way we learn and enjoy exploring the stories of our past.

As we stand at the crossroads of technology and tradition, it is clear that AI has the potential to transform museums into truly immersive and accessible spaces. These tools are not just changing how we see history, but how we feel it; making the stories of our past more tangible and alive. As the examples from Cleveland, Cambridge, and Houston show, this is a journey not just of digital innovation, but of human connection, allowing us to experience the wonders of history, nature, and art in ways that were once unimaginable. Such AI tools are serving as a bridge between the past and the present, inspiring the next generation of artists, scientists, conservationists, and dreamers. As long as we continue to push the boundaries of technology while honouring the stories that connect us, the museums of tomorrow will not just preserve the past; they will inspire the future.

Works Cited

Cleveland Museum of Art. “ArtLens Gallery.” Cleveland Museum of Art, https://www.clevelandart.org/artlens-gallery.

“Nature Perspectives.” Nature Perspectives | AI for nature, https://www.natureperspectives.earth.

Patel, Shafaq. “Houston Museum of Natural Science introduces app for people with low vision.” Axios, 11 February 2025, https://www.axios.com/local/houston/2025/02/11/houston-museum-of-natural-science-app-low-vision.

Sample, Ian. “AI gives voice to dead animals in Cambridge exhibition.” The Guardian, 13 October 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/14/ai-gives-voice-to-dead-animals-in-cambridge-exhibition.