Barry Joseph

Barry Joseph is founder of Barry Joseph Consulting, a driving force at both the strategic and the tactical level in digital engagement, youth development and digital learning. For a dozen years, at Global Kids (a NYC-based after school organisation) then for six years at the American Museum of Natural History, Barry oversaw the strategy, design, and implementation of a slate of over 100 youth courses that applied the latest technology to engage youth to develop their skills and passions through youth media productions and design practices. He has also worked for over a decade with museums to innovate visitor-facing experiences through iterative design, with a particular focus on prototyping and evaluating cutting-edge visitor-facing experiences.

Most recently, as VP of Digital Experience at the Girl Scouts of the USA, he used tools of user experience (UX) and customer experience (CX) to make complexity accessible, supporting the development of a seamless digital customer experience that increased retention and drove new membership. Along the way he has built many communities of practice still active today, like Games For Change and the Emoti-Con! Youth Media Fair, and launched many youth media projects and products. Barry has taught thousands of NYC youth and facilitated over a thousand hours of youth programming, including as troop leader of his daughter’s Girl Scout Troop. His first book, Seltzertopia, came out in 2018, and his next book – on digital design in museums – will be published by AAM in 2022.

He often writes about digital engagement on his blog Mooshme.org.

MuseumNext Digital Learning Summit
Tuesday, 19 October 2021

The Revolution Has Been Digitized: MicroRangers, Youth Programs, and a Toolkit for the Future of Museums

Can teenagers co-design new digital experiences for museums? For six years at the American Museum of Natural History, we did just that. This program will highlight the toolkit from which we drew: guerilla research, rapid prototyping, public piloting, iterative design, and team building. The case study will focus on MicroRangers, a geolocative AR game that invited visitors to shrink to the microscopic level and battle threats to biodiversity within the Museum’s permanent exhibits. Youth designed and voiced the characters, prototyped the interactives, and much much more. Expect to leave excited, informed, and motivated to try something new.

Find the full schedule here