SPECIAL EXHIBITION
Clickbait
A digital obsession
Opens May 22 for a limited engagement.
Step beyond your smartphone screens and into the digital world in a whole new way. CLICKBAIT: a digital obsession, a first of its kind interactive exhibition, transforms the museum gallery into a walkable digital experience, exploring the systems that shape how we see, share, and connect in the 21st century.
The exhibition features 18 large scale installations that bring the often-invisible mechanics of the internet to life. From social media and digital identity to deepfakes and AI, CLICKBAIT offers a timely, thought-provoking journey designed for visitors of all ages.
Exhibition Highlights & Interactivity
CLICKBAIT is designed for ages 8 to 98, making complex technology accessible through play, interaction, and personal discovery. Featured installations include:
By turning abstract ideas such as algorithms, personalization, and digital data into physical experiences, the exhibition creates a shared language across generations. It gives children, who have grown up in a fully connected world, and adults, who remember life before it, an opportunity to engage side by side in meaningful conversation about the digital habits and systems shaping daily life.
The exhibition features 18 large scale installations that bring the often-invisible mechanics of the internet to life. From social media and digital identity to deepfakes and AI, CLICKBAIT offers a timely, thought-provoking journey designed for visitors of all ages.
Exhibition Highlights & Interactivity
CLICKBAIT is designed for ages 8 to 98, making complex technology accessible through play, interaction, and personal discovery. Featured installations include:
- Registration — “The First Click”: The journey begins at one of eight touchscreen stations, where visitors take a simple photo and choose a username to create their digital presence for the day. This opt in moment powers the personalized experience that follows, allowing the exhibition to recognize each visitor as they move through the gallery, much like the digital platforms people use every day.
- Talk to Me — “The Power of the Voice”: Step behind a larger-than-life projected face and experience the pull of the digital stage. As you speak, a cascade of real time likes and hearts responds to your presence, creating a vivid and playful moment that invites reflection on visibility, affirmation, and the desire to be heard.
- Guess Me — “The Mask of Anonymity”: In this interactive installation, visitors are paired with a mystery partner elsewhere in the museum. Through digital masks and altered voices, each person can present themselves in unexpected ways. The result is a playful but revealing exploration of identity, anonymity, and how people connect online.
- The Maze — “Navigating the Map”: This large-scale physical maze turns the invisible mapping of our digital world into a hands-on experience. As visitors make their way through it, the installation offers a tangible way to think about movement, navigation, and how technology interprets the paths we take.
- Your Digital Summary — “The Reflection”: At the end of the exhibition, visitors receive a final personalized moment: a custom highlight reel inspired by the choices and interactions from their journey. The video offers a transparent look at the digital trail created during the experience. Visitors can scan a QR code to take that reflection with them, and once they exit, the system resets.
By turning abstract ideas such as algorithms, personalization, and digital data into physical experiences, the exhibition creates a shared language across generations. It gives children, who have grown up in a fully connected world, and adults, who remember life before it, an opportunity to engage side by side in meaningful conversation about the digital habits and systems shaping daily life.
Open Today: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Plan A Visit Located in Level 2
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Please Note:
Last entry is 1 hour and 15 minutes before closing time.
Admission price includes access to all HMNS Permanent Exhibit Halls except certain Special Exhibitions and the Brown Hall of Entomology.
Admission price includes access to all HMNS Permanent Exhibit Halls except certain Special Exhibitions and the Brown Hall of Entomology.