The role of boundary objects in collaborative design

Abstract

Museums and science centers are embracing collaborative design practices to invite diverse expertises into the design process. Co-construction of museum exhibits and experiences can help museums better engage and affirm local communities as well as facilitate disciplinary and educational research connected to museum experiences. To support more collaborative design processes, many museums are creating new frameworks capable of supporting authentic co-construction across wells of expertise, both within a museum infrastructure and with external partners. In this perspective, we share insights that have emerged through the development of such a framework at the Lawrence Hall of Science. We position this design framework as a collection of boundary objects (Star & Griesemer, 1989, 387) that can facilitate collaboration, and discuss the affordances of boundary objects for nurturing inclusive participation, knowledge-sharing, and shared ownership.