  This paper presents a research through design exploration using tangible
interactions in order to seamlessly integrate technology in a historical house
museum. The study addresses a longstanding concern in museum exhibition design
that interactive technologies may distract from the artifacts on display.
Through an iterative design process including user studies, a co-creation
workshop with museum staff and several prototypes, we developed an interactive
installation called The Diary of Niels that combines physical objects, RFID
sensors and an elaborate fiction in order to facilitate increased visitor
engagement. Insights from the research process and user tests indicate that the
integration of technology and artifacts is meaningful and engaging for users,
and helps introduce museum visitors to the historic theme of the exhibition and
the meaning of the artifacts. The study also points to continued challenges in
integrating such hybrid experiences fully with the rest of the exhibition.
