Interactive histories : How might interactive exhibtion elements improve the understanding of Islamicate history?

Sammanfattning: What if the objects in the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin could talk?All the artefacts are there for a reason. But especially in a historic exhibition on another culture those reason can be extremely difficult to see. Why look at a shagged old carpet? More than 4 million Muslims live in Germany today. Most people have very little background knowledge in Islamic art or history - but Islam is a regular topic of heated debate. People come to the Museum of Islamic Art with today´s questions, ideas and expectations. In today´s exhibition, visitors are flooded with impressions and information, but without background knowledge, it is difficult to relate things.  What are engaging, and information-rich, but not overwhelming formats to access deeper information on particular objects? How to explore their specific contexts as well as their relation to other objects?My final design - ‘Storytellers’ are guides. They are small tokens that represent objects from the museum. Each object has its own character, topic and relationships to other objects. It will show you through the exhibition on its` individual tour. There are tours with stories for children, families, different levels of background knowledge and interests.