Designing for Awe: Lessons from Denver Art Museum

What makes a museum experience feel awe-inspiring? At Denver Art Museum, Holly Harmon explored that question through exhibition design and visitors’ own accounts of what they felt. The case offers practical ideas for inviting wonder, sustained attention and reflection.

At the Museums, Health & Wellbeing Summit, Holly Harmon, an interpretive specialist at the Denver Art Museum, shared her research on how awe—often associated with grand natural landscapes or celestial phenomena—can be intentionally cultivated in museum exhibitions. Using the museum’s Biophilia: Nature Reimagined exhibition as a case study, Harmon explored how visitors described awe, how it could be measured through self-report, and which design choices might support that experience.

What Biophilia set out to invite

Biophilia set out to invite wonder and reflection through encounters with nature-inspired art and design. The visitor survey discussed here explored experiences of awe; it did not establish clinical health benefits or lasting changes in wellbeing.

In Biophilia: Nature Reimagined, the Denver Art Museum curated over 70 works inspired by nature’s patterns, phenomena, and places. Harmon reported 125,000 exhibition visits, including one visitor who returned 16 times. Harmon noted that many visitors reported feeling emotionally moved, with some even describing the experience as life-changing.

How Harmon explored visitors’ experience of awe

To better understand the impact of Biophilia, Harmon’s team used the Awe Experience Scale (AWE-S), a self-report measure that quantifies awe based on six key factors:

1. Perception of Vastness – Encountering something physically or conceptually immense.
2. Need for Accommodation – The feeling of struggling to comprehend an experience.
3. Alterations in Time – The sensation of time slowing down or standing still.
4. Self-Diminishment – Feeling smaller in the presence of something greater.
5. Connectedness – A sense of being part of something larger.
6. Physical Sensations – Goosebumps, chills, or jaw-dropping moments.

Harmon reported that 94% of survey respondents experienced awe and 78% scored highly on the scale. The figures describe respondents’ experiences, rather than clinical outcomes. One visitor summarized their feelings: “This is my second time seeing the show, and I’m still in awe. The immersion and sensory qualities make it extremely memorable.”

Six design choices from the exhibition

Based on this research, Harmon developed six guiding principles for museums aiming to design awe-inspiring exhibitions:

1. Think Big

Awe is often triggered by vastness, whether physical or conceptual. In Biophilia, this was achieved through a big idea—humanity’s deep connection to nature. Instead of focusing on technical details, the exhibition prioritized emotional impact and reflection, encouraging visitors to engage on a deeper level.

2. Make Connections

Awe is amplified when visitors connect with themselves, others, and the world. The museum incorporated community voice labels featuring stories from locals, alongside designer voice labels sharing artists’ inspirations. Reflection prompts such as “Do you see yourself as part of nature or separate from it?” further encouraged visitors to explore their own relationships with the natural world.

3. Cultivate Presence

Many visitors described a slowing of time while experiencing Biophilia. The exhibition’s object placement and pacing allowed for deep engagement, and interactive artworks unfolded gradually, rewarding those who lingered. Carefully designed lighting evoked the feeling of sunlight filtering through trees, reinforcing a sense of calm and contemplation. Slow looking offers another way to support sustained attention, with seating and a pace visitors can choose.

4. Invite Wonder

A sense of mystery fuels awe. Harmon highlighted the importance of leaving room for curiosity, rather than over-explaining exhibits. Inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s quote—“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”—the team chose not to explain how digital artworks functioned in the immediate encounter. That was one curatorial choice; another museum could offer optional further interpretation for visitors who want to explore the technology.

5. Engage the Senses

Physical engagement heightens emotional impact. Visitors to Biophilia could sit in a concrete chair, feel its texture, and immerse themselves in sensory experiences. One standout piece, Meadow by Studio Drift, featured choreographed mechanical flowers. Harmon reported that 40% of survey respondents named this installation as their most awe-inspiring moment.

Sensory effects also need choices: offer slower routes, seating and clear information so visitors can avoid experiences they find too intense. The Sachs Museum’s scent-led museum interpretation provides another example of making sensory participation optional.

6. Encourage Reflection

Awe fosters introspection. The museum introduced an interactive Connectedness to Nature Quiz, which projected visitors’ responses into a dynamic data visualization and provided personalized recommendations for deepening their relationship with nature. Many visitors reported that this shifted their perspectives and motivated them to seek new experiences.

Using these ideas at a manageable scale

Harmon’s findings are most useful when read alongside the design choices that prompted them: places to pause, questions about visitors’ relationship with nature and artworks that unfolded over time. The reported survey responses suggest that many respondents felt awe in this exhibition. They give other museums a reason to test those choices with their own visitors, asking which moments held their attention and why, rather than assuming that spectacle alone will create a lasting change.

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Holly Harmon from Denver Art Museum spoke at the Museums, Health & Wellbeing Summit 2025