Play in museums: a scoping review

ABSTRACTThis article presents a quantitative scoping review of play in museums, focusing on when, where, and how play has been applied and researched. The findings indicate that the attention to play in museum settings is a relatively recent and growing tendency. Additionally, the review reveals a notable Western bias, with a significant concentration of studies originating from the United States, primarily in the context of children’s museums. Interestingly, the majority of studies on play in museums have been published outside the broader museum studies field. Furthermore, nearly half of the reviewed studies do not treat play as a central and defined concept and only 35% of the studies investigate play empirically as a central and defined concept. Based on our findings, we call for more research published within the field of museum studies as well as encourage further empirical investigations where play is a central and defined concept.KEYWORDS: Playmuseumexhibitionscoping reviewquantitative methodmuseum studies Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 The following journals identified by East (Citation2008) were included: Collections: A Journal for Museum and Archive Professionals, Conservator, Curator: The Museum Journal, Exhibitionist/Exhibition, International Journal of Heritage Studies, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Journal of Heritage Tourism, Journal of Museum Education, Journal of the American Institute for Conservation, Journal of the History of Collection, Museum and Society, Museum Anthropology, Museum International, Museum Management and Curatorship, Museums and Social Issues, Studies in Conservation and Visitor Studies.2 Three studies were not retrievable, namely Dyson (Citation2021), Fullenkamp (Citation2021), and Lucas, McManus, and Thomas (Citation1986).3 https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/youth.4 Four studies mentioning both children and young people were categorized as young people, since they were considered to be most relevant for this category: Chayder (Citation2019), Kanhadilok and Watts (Citation2017), Laine et al. (Citation2009) and Chang, Chang, and Heh (Citation2015). Additional informationNotes on contributorsNanna HoldgaardNanna Holdgaard is a senior researcher at the National Museum of Denmark whose practice-based and cross-disciplinary work encompasses audience research, participatory design, and digital media. In her research, she examines the intricate dynamics and interplay between audiences, cultural institutions, and cultural policies.Anne Rørbæk OlesenAnne Rørbæk Olesen earned her PhD in Communication from Roskilde University in 2015 with the thesis Co-designing Digital Museum Communication. She has co-authored publications in internationally renowned anthologies and journals, such as The Routledge Handbook of Museums, Media and Communication, Museum Management and Curatorship, and Museum & Society. Her research focuses on museums, communication, design, and collaboration.