Join Dave Patten, a pioneering digital innovator with nearly 40 years of experience at Science Museum Group, UK, where he was responsible for developing and commissioning digital experiences in over 170 exhibitions. This talk traces a remarkable journey—from early experiments to cutting-edge interactive exhibits—offering insights for creators, technologists, and curious minds alike.
Dive into the origins with The Network (1995), a multiuser game that introduced kids to video conferencing, revealing the power of user testing.
Explore The Wellcome Wing (2000), a new extension to the Science Museum with nearly 200 networked exhibits, showcasing the thrills and challenges of pushing boundaries.
Discover Web Lab (2012), an award-winning Google collaboration that united physical and online visitors 24/7, mastering partnerships and beta launches.
Experience the Technicians Gallery (2022), an interactive led exhibition for young people, featuring digital exhibits with physical interfaces which allow visitors to be technicians. Highlighting the challenges of robust design.
The talk will also touch on findings from research carried out by Dave Patten, Ben Gammon and Bethan Ross in 2019 - Everything we know about visitors and digital media exhibits. With humour, wisdom, and some key takeaways from each project, this talk celebrates innovation, resilience, and the art of engaging audiences in a digital world.
Dave Patten has recently (June 2024) retired as Head of New Media at The Science Museum Group, UK, where his role included managing all aspects of new media and AV, from conceptual design, prototyping and production to project managing external developers and production companies. He has a background in electronics and computer science, and worked at the Science Museum nearly 40 years, developing exhibitions and leading development teams. He developed the technical systems for the Science Museum’s Wellcome Wing and Dana Centre, which opened in 2000 and 2004 respectively.
Recent work includes Web Lab, the multi-award winning collaboration with Google, Engineering Your Future, an interactive exhibition for teenagers on engineering and a secondment to Frost Science in Miami to help develop exhibitions and systems for a new museum which opened in 2017. As well as managing the New Media team spread across multiple sites at the Science Museum Group he also ran the Science Museum Groups Digital Lab Initiative which experiments in emerging technologies. Dave is now an Honorary Senior Research Associate at the Science Museum Group documenting the museum's recent past from a non curatorial perspective.