“When I first started designing and building exhibits I’d never heard of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. Now there isn’t a project that comes up without someone mentioning it, QR, or bar codes! And everyone wants some sort of post visit experience ….”

This type of technology, which can profile visitors and record their interaction with exhibits, is becoming increasingly common, and this session will explore its opportunities, strengths, and challenges. We will present case studies of successful projects implementing RFID, but also provide examples where an attempt to adopt this approach has led to an experiential dead end for the user. The session will ask searching questions about RFID and its application to science centre exhibitions, such as:

• How can this approach create a richer experience for the user, both during and after their visit? • What are the technical limitations of the technology? • What demands does RFID place on the science centre? • Does the audience always understand how to use RFID – and if they do, do they value it? • Is RFID here to stay – or are there competing systems just around the corner?

This session will include contributions from those who create and implement these systems, but also the experiences of those institutions who operate them. We will examine the benefits of this technology as well as alternatives such as QR and bar codes, when and how their use is most appropriate, and will also discuss how we think this approach can be extended to social networking and personal communications.