Ely Museum
Audience Research & Immersive Interpretation
Immersive and distinctly local visitor experience.
Working in collaboration with Tricolor, Les Raconteurs undertook extensive visitor and audience research and tested all-new immersive interpretation designs for the refurbishment and extension of Ely Museum.
Housed within a former Bishop’s Gaol, the museum wanted to transform how visitors experienced its collections and the stories of Ely and the surrounding Fens. Over six months, we engaged 450+ visitors, non-visitors and local people through surveys, focus groups, access panels, school consultation and pilot activities with young people.
Our research identified the stories and experiences audiences most wanted from the new museum, particularly the relationship between people and the distinctive Fen landscape and the fascinating history of the Gaol itself. These insights fed directly into Tricolor’s Activity and Interpretation Plans and the development of the new interpretive vision and gallery narratives.
Working with Tricolor and the wider design team, Les Raconteurs then tested emerging immersive interpretation, exhibition designs and visual approaches with audiences, using their responses to refine the experience before designs were finalised.
The result was a research-led, immersive and distinctly local visitor experience, shaped with its audiences rather than simply presented to them. The £2.2m transformation secured £1.82m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with the refurbished museum reopening in 2021.