Merel van der Vaart is a PhD Researcher with the Allard Pierson Museum and the department of Media Studies. Her research focuses on the user experience & usability of digital media in museums, with an emphasis on visitor engagement and social interaction. Her research is part of the EU funded project Material EncounterS with digital Cultural Heritage (meSch).

 She previously worked at the Science Museum in London as their first Associate Curator of Public History, where she was responsible for co-creative projects and processes both online and on-site. Among other things she worked on the Oramics to Electronica project, working together with electronic music enthusiasts, and the AHRC funded Enfield Exchange project, which saw part of the Enfield Telephone Exchange switchboard temporarily being returned to the local community.

 In 2010 she worked as a Research Assistant for the LIVE!Museum project at the University of Leicester’s School of Museum Studies. The research focus of this project was to find new ways in which the online and on-site museum experience could be merged. She wrote her master thesis on the way on-site digital installations impact on social interaction among visitors.

 Her special interests include: the relationship between people, objects and information; audience engagement, participation & co-creation; social interaction in the museum space; and merging online and on-site experiences. Merel holds degrees in Museology (cum laude) and Language & Culture Studies (University of Utrecht) , as well as an MA in Museum Studies (University of Leicester).

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