Exploring Youth-Centred Co-Creation in Digital Heritage Interpretation: A Participatory Design Approach

Abstract

Heritage interpretation and presentation are integral to heritage management and conservation, particularly when addressing a vulnerable audience such as children and young people. Today, youth are deeply immersed in technology, relying on it in their daily activities. To connect with this digital generation, heritage interpretation must incorporate innovative digital tools that are informative, accessible, and engaging for the young audience. While digital tools and virtual technologies have been used in museums and heritage sites, their design is usually expert-driven and is evaluated from an adult-centric viewpoint. Children's perspectives are often overlooked, and they are rarely involved at the early stages of content development. This project explores the process of co-creating a game-like interpretative tool for Must Farm, a unique Bronze Age settlement whose physical remains no longer exist on site. The poster presents the first phase of the research, based on researcher observations of co-creation workshops led by the Cambridge Archaeological Unit and Dr. Guy Schofield. The project aims to examine how participatory co-creation can support youth engagement, learning, and connections to heritage, while also providing insight into how young people understand, interpret, and experience archaeological information. At this phase, the project analyses the challenges and possibilities of using digital tools such as MetaHuman Creator for Unreal Engine in participatory projects, where young people are encouraged to build their own historical characters and narratives as part of a co-creation process. Drawing on research on edutainment, role-playing, and serious games within heritage studies, and in combination with digital technologies, the project seeks to better understand youth perspectives on archaeological sites through a participatory approach. In this approach, young people contribute to the early stages of development of a digital game aimed at interpreting Must Farm. Must Farm is selected as a case study because its incomplete archaeological record allows for speculation and multiple interpretations, making it particularly suitable for a cocreative process. The poster discusses the theoretical framework, research methodology, and preliminary observations on how young people perceive Bronze Age communities and interact with digital technologies. As a work in progress, the project seeks to contribute to wider discussions on participatory, youth-centred approaches to digital heritage interpretation.