I didn't bring my son to a museum to look at screens

Shift from Physical Exhibits to Screens

• Many commenters echo the article’s frustration: science museums swapping hands‑on mechanisms for generic touchscreens feels like a downgrade, especially when the same content could be consumed at home.
• Screen-based “interactive” kiosks are often described as shallow, buggy, or broken, compared to memorable mechanical or tactile exhibits (giant hearts, geysers, periscopes, kinetic sculptures).
• Some argue screens are fine when they augment artifacts (e.g., zooming into a painting, microscope feeds, seismograph visualizations), but not when they replace the exhibit itself.

Kids, Adults, and Audiences

• Persistent complaint: science museums and zoos are treated as kid spaces, while art museums are treated as serious adult spaces, despite adults’ poor scientific literacy.
• Others counter that kids are the main paying audience, and “for kids” shouldn’t mean “bad” — good exhibits can be accessible to children and still interesting for adults.
• Several museum professionals stress the need to design for broad audiences, “dumbing down” only in the sense of removing jargon and assuming little prior knowledge.

Maintenance, Durability, and Cost

• Physical interactives are expensive to build, maintain, and repair under heavy use by children; components are quickly destroyed or worn out.
• Screens are cheaper to refresh, easier to harden, and compatible with rotating traveling exhibits and limited budgets.
• Public procurement and tender processes often favor large contractors and one‑off digital packages; once staff or vendors move on, nobody maintains them.

Museums for Engagement vs. Museums as Storage

• Debate over curators’ priorities: preservation vs. exhibition. Some see overemphasis on “keeping” objects in back rooms rather than letting the public engage with them.
• Others argue preservation for future generations and researchers is a core mission, and interactive replicas plus richer interpretation can balance both.

Broader “Screen Culture” and Education

• Multiple commenters connect museum screens to broader trends: Chromebooks in classrooms, digital art in early grades, and tech pushed for prestige rather than pedagogy.
• Some parents actively seek low‑screen schools and museums, believing young children need physical materials and real-world exploration, not more digital stimuli.

Good and Bad Examples

• Named positive examples include Exploratorium (SF), Deutsches Museum (Munich), Miraikan (Tokyo), various hands-on science and play museums, and some art museums with strong family programming.
• Others report beloved institutions (Franklin Institute, local science centers, UK museums, school field‑trip staples) feeling more commercial, screen‑heavy, and “enshittified” compared to decades past.