New report about play

17.12.2025

If you are curious about how museum users experience play, we have just published a new report on the subject.

In the report, researchers in our program, Ea Willumsen and Stefanie Steinbeck, have gathered impressions and opinions from around 1,000 people across eight of our museums: Kronborg Castle, the National Museum of Denmark's Ships, the Frøslev Camp, Trelleborg Viking Fortress, the War Museum, the Experience Center at Jelling, the Open Air Museum, and the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

Play surprises

Among other things, the new report highlights that play in museums is perceived as a surprising element that breaks with museum conventions, but which at the same time can create doubt among users about what behavior is appropriate in the museum space. A museum visitor, a 35-year-old man, puts it this way:

“It's very different from a normal museum. In a normal museum, you're either not allowed to touch anything, or things are in glass cases. But here, you're really invited to play with it.”

The report also shows that there is great diversity in playful behavior at museums. Examples range from building a wooden boat to finding hidden letters with UV light or dressing up in Renaissance party clothes. Play takes different forms depending on the visitor and the museum space, but many find that it supports social interaction and creates a physical and emotional connection to history. At the same time, users point out that play requires ethical reflection and clear guidelines so that original objects and sensitive topics are protected and treated with respect.