Three Chatbots Walk Into a Museum...

If you've been following museum tech trends lately, you've probably noticed AI chatbots popping up everywhere. Instead of just reading about them, I decided to roll up my (digital) sleeves and build a few exhibit-focused chatbots to see what all the fuss is about.

Spoiler alert: It's pretty fun, surprisingly educational, and maybe even useful for museums!

Why Museum Chatbots?

Visitors come to museums with wildly different questions, interests, and attention spans. Some want the quick Wikipedia version, others want to dive deep into primary sources, and still others just want to know where the bathrooms are (Pro Tip: chatbots are *terrible* at that last one).

But what if you could give visitors a way to have an actual conversation with a historical figure or topic expert? Not in a creepy uncanny valley way, but in a "here's another tool in your interpretive toolkit" kind of way.

Three Chatbots Walk Into a Museum...

I created three different chatbot experiments, each with a different personality and purpose:

1. George Washington: First President, First Chatbot

This was my first attempt, and I went straight for the big guy himself. The George Washington chatbot is designed to answer visitor questions about his life, Mount Vernon, and 18th-century America—all while staying in character and citing actual historical sources.

Want to know about his dentures? His relationship with enslaved people at Mount Vernon? His thoughts on political parties? George (or at least this digital version) will chat with you about it. The key here was making sure responses were historically grounded and included source citations, so visitors know this isn't just making stuff up.

2. Ivan Vazov: Bulgaria's Literary Lion

Okay, this one's a bit more niche, but hear me out! Ivan Vazov is Bulgaria's national poet, and I created this chatbot to help English-speaking visitors engage with Bulgarian literary history. 

This bot can discuss Vazov's works, the Bulgarian National Revival period, and even translate some of his poetry. It's a great example of how chatbots can make culturally specific content more accessible to international audiences without oversimplifying it.

3. Paul Orselli: Yes, I Made One of Myself! 

In the spirit of full transparency, and maybe a little ego, I created a chatbot version of myself to answer questions about museum exhibit design, visitor engagement, and the ExhibiTricks blog. 

This one's less about historical accuracy and more about sharing professional expertise in a conversational format. It's like having a museum consultant available 24/7, except this one never gets tired of explaining why hands-on exhibits shouldn't be overly complicated.

What I Learned

The Good:

• Creating these chatbots was surprisingly quick and iterative. You can test, refine, and improve the personality and accuracy pretty easily.

• They're genuinely useful for handling the "long tail" of visitor questions that traditional labels can't address.

• The ability to cite sources means visitors can dig deeper if they want to verify information.

The Not-So-Good:

• You need to be really thoughtful about accuracy and bias. These tools can confidently state incorrect information if you're not careful.

• They're not a replacement for well-designed exhibits or human interpretation—they're a supplement.

• Accessibility is still a work in progress (think: screen reader compatibility, multilingual support).

Should Your Museum Make a Chatbot?

Maybe! Here are some questions to ask first:

• Do your visitors have questions that go beyond what your labels can address?

• Do you have good primary source material or expertise to draw from?

• Are you comfortable with AI as an interpretive tool, with all its limitations?

• Can you commit to maintaining and updating it over time?

If you answered yes to most of these, it might be worth experimenting. Start small, test with real visitors, and don't be afraid to iterate.

Try Them Out!

All three chatbots mentioned above are live and ready to chat. Click the links above, ask them questions, and see what you think. Are they useful? Gimmicky? Somewhere in between? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"

Can AI Be Your Museum Brainstorming Buddy?

Let's be honest: we've all been there. It's 3 PM on a Tuesday, and you're staring at a blank concept document, with your brain feeling like it's been replaced with cotton candy. The client wants "something interactive about local history that appeals to all ages and doesn't cost more than a decent used car."

Your internal monologue goes something like: Interactive... history... families... budget... HELP.

Enter your new creative partner: AI. 

No, it won't replace your brilliant human insights (thank goodness), but it might just save you from that deer-in-headlights moment when inspiration decides to take an extended lunch break.

The Brainstorm Before the Brainstorm

Here's the thing about AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude: they're like that friend who's read everything, remembers everything, and never gets tired of your "what if we tried..." questions. The secret sauce isn't asking AI to design your exhibit for you—it's using it to unstick your creative gears.

Instead of: "Design an exhibit about butterflies." Try: "I need 15 unexpected angles for approaching butterfly conservation that would surprise visitors who think they know everything about butterflies."

Boom. Suddenly, you're not just talking about metamorphosis (again). You're exploring butterfly migration as climate data, butterfly wing patterns as inspiration for solar panel efficiency, or the economic impact of pollinator decline on local agriculture.

Journey Mapping: Your Visitor's GPS

 Remember when we used to draw visitor journey maps on napkins and hope for the best? AI can help you think through the emotional rollercoaster your visitors are about to experience—before you build the actual rollercoaster.

Try this prompt: "Map the emotional journey of a skeptical teenager being dragged through an exhibit about [your topic]. What are their pain points, potential engagement moments, and what would make them actually tell their friends about it?"

The AI might suggest that your skeptical teen initially rolls their eyes at the entrance, gets grudgingly intrigued by a hands-on station, feels genuinely surprised by an unexpected connection to their world, and leaves with one concrete thing to think about. That's a roadmap for your design decisions.

The "Yes, And..." Partner

AI excels at the improv comedy rule of "yes, and..."—it builds on your ideas instead of shutting them down. Having a creative block about how to make 18th-century farming techniques relevant to urban kids?

You: "What if we connected historical farming to modern urban gardening?"

AI: "Yes, and what if visitors could compare the efficiency of colonial crop rotation with vertical farming techniques, using the same square footage?"

You: "And they could actually plant something to take home..."

AI: "And track their plant's growth against historical weather data from the same region..."

Suddenly, you've an exhibit that bridges centuries, connects to current sustainability concerns, and provides visitors with a lasting takeaway.

Pro Tips for AI Collaboration

Be specific with context: "I'm designing for a 200-square-foot space in a children's museum with a $15K budget and weekly school groups of 25 kids" gets you better suggestions than "design something for kids."

Ask for alternatives: "Give me 5 completely different ways to teach this concept" will stretch your thinking beyond your first idea.

Play devil's advocate: "What would a museum visitor who hates technology think about this exhibit?" helps you design for all your audiences.

Get granular: "What should visitors be thinking, feeling, and doing in the first 30 seconds of this experience?" forces specificity.

The Human Touch (Still Required)

Here's what AI can't do: understand your specific community, navigate your institution's politics, or know that your facilities manager has strong opinions about anything that plugs into the wall. It can't feel the energy of your space, or know that Mrs. Henderson brings her third-grade class every October, and they always ask about dinosaurs, even in the art gallery.

AI is your museum brainstorming accelerator, not your replacement. 

Don't miss out on any ExhibiTricks posts! It's easy to get updates via email or your favorite news reader. Just click the "Sign up for Free ExhibiTricks Blog Updates" link on the upper right side of the blog.

Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!

If you enjoy the blog, you can help keep it free to read and free from ads by supporting ExhibiTricks through our PayPal "Tip Jar"