For three consecutive terms, Hood Museum staff worked with a Design Corps student team to revitalize student engagement with the museum. Through a comprehensive research and creative problem-solving process, Kiera Bernet ’23, Mallory Barnes ’22, Loane Bougennec ’25, and Danielle Lu ’25 used human-centered design principles and strategies to enhance campus engagement opportunities and ultimately propose a student-led project called “The Museum Journal: Pause, Pass It On,” which launched on April 5, 2023.
Design Corps began with a broad prompt and a collective vision: to further connect students with the programming opportunities offered by the museum. Recognizing the transformative power of art, the team sought to develop a project that would not only capture students’ attention but also provide a space for meaningful exploration and reflection.
To start, they conducted interviews with students to gain a broad understanding of their perceptions and experiences related to museums and the Hood Museum in particular. These initial interviews included questions that explored students’ likes and dislikes about museums, their first impressions of the Hood Museum, and the barriers they faced in accessing or engaging with cultural institutions. The team distilled the data collected from these interviews into two specific insights about student activities on campus: they were either already integrated into their daily routines, or they were regarded as novel and exciting experiences, akin to bucket list items. These key findings served as the foundation for their investigation and led to two essential questions: How could the Hood Museum be seamlessly integrated into students’ daily lives? Alternatively, how could the museum be transformed to appear more novel and enticing to students?
To address these questions, the team conducted a second round of interviews that delved deeper into students’ interactions with physical spaces, the different activities they engage with in their leisure time, and their aspirations for their time at Dartmouth. They also hosted a storyboarding activity with members of the Museum Club to “map out” how the members became familiar with the Hood Museum, providing the team with information on the pathways through which highly engaged students discover or access the museum.
This extensive research process then propelled the team to design possible solutions that would both appeal to students’ existing routines and ensure that the museum became an integral part of their Dartmouth experience. First, the team observed that students desired “productive downtime.” This meant that the activities students participated in during their leisure time needed to imbue a sense of accomplishment, which aligned with students’ general inclination to take on tasks that were meaningful and that contributed to their overall goals. Second, the team observed that the Hood Museum was not primarily perceived as a student-oriented space. This drove the team to prioritize a sense of comfort and accessibility within the museum’s physical spaces for students to be willing to fully engage there. Third, the team observed that the museum did not possess a distinctive Dartmouth identity, unlike other popular destinations on campus like the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, which potentially limited its appeal to the student community. Fourth, the team recognized that students were drawn to interactive exhibitions and searched for museum experiences that were both reflective and contemplative.
Guided by these insights, the team embarked on a process of ideation that resulted in the formulation of three problem statements. “These kinds of constructs are the way that we approach the problem,” Bougennec said. “How might we lower the social stakes of going to the Hood? This corresponds to the fact that the Hood doesn’t feel student-facing. How might we make the Hood feel more student-centered? How might we make the Hood non-academically productive so that students can still feel that it’s a place that they should like, that they are getting something out of it — that it keeps them going on their to-do list while still feeling really fruitful and insightful.”
The team then defined promising student types. Barnes noted, “Standardly, in a design-thinking method, you might only target one type of user. But we noticed that there were a few different types of students that might benefit in different ways from visiting the Hood Museum. The first is the socializer—students who are very extroverted and might see the Hood as a place of community and a way to share a moment with friends. The second type of student is the art lover—students who visit the museum intrinsically for the art. Third is the reflector—students who might see art as a medium of reflection and contemplation.”
The team’s final idea was the “Museum Journal”:
“The concept was to, throughout the term, have one journal for one group of two to four friends, and the group would come together, decorate their journal, and decide one person to start,” Barnes explained. “And each week one friend would go into the museum with the journal on their own time to reflect, answer different reflection prompts, write little notes, and then pass it on to their next friend. And the next friend would find their own time, go into the museum, write their own reflections, respond to their friend, and then pass it on. And this would take place throughout the entire term.”
Once their idea for their project was finalized, the team conducted a prototyping session with a group of students, providing journal prompts and materials. The feedback received was positive, with 90 percent of participants expressing a high likelihood of returning to the museum for further engagement. The team shared that participants mentioned feeling refreshed, connected, and relaxed during the activity. Upon receiving the positive feedback, the team decided to implement the idea and launch the project on campus. In order to promote the Museum Journal, the team designed posters, bookmarks, and personalized invitations for different student groups on campus. They organized a kickoff event where groups of friends gathered at the museum to pick up their journals, decorated them, and started their reflection journey. Throughout the term, weekly emails with special prompts were sent to the participants, which offered them the opportunity to reflect and share specific moments.
Adriana Chavira-Ochoa ’24, who attended the kickoff event for the Museum Journal, found the project to be truly inspiring:
“I had already spent a lot of time in the Hood, but this project allowed me to experience the museum in a different and exciting way,” she said. “The event brought together a diverse group of students, and it was fascinating to witness everyone’s reflections.”
Lauren Tan ’23 also shared these sentiments and said that the opportunity to decorate journals and explore the galleries together with friends created a sense of community.
“I initially joined because I wanted to engage in a shared activity with my friends, but it turned out to be so much more,” she said. “I left the event feeling inspired and connected—it was a fun experience that offered a much-needed break from the academic routine.”
The collaboration between the Hood Museum and the Design Corps program exemplifies the value of student involvement in shaping campus life. By actively incorporating student perspectives and experiences, the “Museum Journal” project has had a positive impact on the Dartmouth community’s engagement with art, fostering a sense of belonging on campus and at the museum.
This post was authored by: Paulina Marinkovic Camacho ’23, Levinson Intern
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paulina, originally from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, graduated from Dartmouth in 2023 with a double major in English and film and media studies. Outside of her internship at the Hood Museum of Art, she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority. As a sister, she was involved in the International Student Mentorship Program, a Sisterhood & New Member Assistant, and a member of the DEI task force. During her tenure she was also a writer for the arts section of The Dartmouth newspaper.
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