In the face of the digital revolution, museums and science centers are no longer merely places of conservation or knowledge dissemination—they have become true spaces for experience, interactive storytelling, and collective reflection. By harnessing digital creativity, these institutions now offer collective, playful, and educational experiences. New technologies have transformed the ways knowledge is transmitted, and with that, the very role of these institutions in society. How has digital creativity contributed to reshaping the dissemination of knowledge?
In the past, museums and science centers were primarily spaces of transmission—typically delivered in a top-down, expert-to-public manner. Today, these places have reinvented themselves, notably through the use of digital creativity, becoming collaborative environments where the collective plays a more central role. These institutions have become platforms for co-creation, experimentation, and wonder for everyone.
For example, in Quebec, the Montreal Science Centre has embraced this shift for several years. Its “Human” exhibition — designed and produced by GSM Project — integrates interactive and immersive technologies (such as facial recognition, simulations, touch screens, etc.) to prompt reflection on identity and the human body. Another notable case is ROUGE 2100, an immersive experience at the Montreal Planetarium, designed by Cirque Éloize with a sound experience created by Troublemakers. This immersive exhibition invites audiences on a five-chapter journey to imagine, in vivid detail, humanity’s first steps on Mars in the year 2100.
In Germany, the ZKM | Center for Art and Media functions as a genuine laboratory where artists, scientists, and citizens can explore together the impact of technology on our world.
Technological innovations now allow for a more sensory, participatory, and emotional form of mediation. As Julie Dalbec, Head of Programming at HUB Montreal, put it: “Whether we are creators or spectators, what we seek is an emotional connection, a meaningful experience that transcends technology.” Through interactive installations, augmented reality, or immersive experiences, visitors no longer simply receive knowledge—they participate in it, they live it.
A striking example is the Musée de la civilisation de Québec and its exhibition Venenum – A Poisoned World, created in collaboration with the Musée des Confluences in Lyon. The exhibition combines scientific content with multimedia elements to immerse visitors in a multisensory exploration of poisons. Another example is Root for Nature by OASIS Immersion, which plunges audiences into the heart of biodiversity and encourages reflection on environmental issues.
The combination of art, science, and technology allows contemporary issues to be explored in both sensitive and critical ways. Digital creativity, storytelling, and technological innovation are used as tools for collective reflection, opening up broader conversations.
In Montreal, the MUTEK Festival acts as a bridge. Its programming includes collaborations with cultural institutions to integrate digital works into museum contexts, blending artistic innovation with knowledge sharing. Another MUTEK initiative, the Village Numérique, aims to decentralize culture by welcoming anyone wishing to explore digital creativity through an open-air urban journey.
Additionally, integrating digital creativity into cultural and scientific institutions has allowed content to be adapted to better engage diverse audiences: younger generations, families, multilingual communities, and more. Digital creativity fosters inclusion and enables the democratization of knowledge—sometimes even beyond the walls of the institution!
During the pandemic in 2020, the Montreal Biodome launched immersive 360-degree virtual tours, allowing people to explore its ecosystems playfully from home. Similarly, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington offers a vast catalog of digitized 3D objects, available for free, which teachers can incorporate into their lessons.
Other museums also offer co-creation projects with the public, such as the Virtual Museum of Canada, which gives communities a platform to tell their stories through interactive media. There’s also the upcoming National Geographic Museum of Exploration, set to open in 2026 in the heart of Washington, which will allow the public to discover the world through a new lens—thanks to technology—across wildlife, landscapes, and cultures.
Over the years, digital creativity has helped transform the educational mission of museums and science centers. By making knowledge dynamic, interactive, and inclusive, it redefines the role of these institutions in an ever-evolving world.
This is also a trend we’ve observed in recent editions of HUB Montreal, where more and more cultural and scientific institutions are participating to connect with Quebec studios, exchange best practices, and more. For this 9th edition, the “Museums and Science Centers” segment will focus specifically on this sector and the impact of digital creativity through a compelling program!
Far beyond mere technology, digital creativity has enabled a new form of mediation—participatory, cross-disciplinary, sensitive, and fundamentally human.
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