Why do some museum experiences have seating, but others don’t?
The underlying question here might be: how long can you reasonably ask a museum visitor to stand still while watching a video or using an interactive?
That question has an answer.
Two minutes.
Many museum standards recommend a movable seat for table interactives expected to occupy visitors longer than two minutes.
This isn’t an ADA civil rights rule, or a law. It’s just a practical design guideline.
A one-minute video? … Standing is reasonable.
A five-minute film? … Provide seating.
A quick push-button interactive? … Probably no seat.
A five-minute touchscreen game or hands-on activity? … Provide seating.
Three important caveats to the two-minute rule are:
1. This applies to activities that keep visitors standing still. An immersive media environment where people wander is different.
2. Leaving space for wheelchair access always matters, regardless of duration.
3. Benches for resting, elsewhere in a gallery, aren’t a substitute for seating at the activity itself.
Here’s the thing:
Anywhere you expect a visitor to stand still for more than two minutes, you should give them something to sit on.
Warmly,
Jonathan
P.S. Some standards (ahem, Smithsonian) might require seating at every interactive activity or short media experience. But most places don’t take it that far.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MtM Word of the Day:
Two-minute seating rule. A design guideline (not a legal requirement) recommending seating for activities where visitors must remain standing still longer than two minutes. Applies to videos and to any form of interactive, whether digital or not.
The 2-Minute Seating Rule
Next
Next