At the heart of the House of European History, a temporary interactive installation called the "Participatory Public History Lab" presents personal accounts written by 14 students from across Europe. Reminiscent of rummaging through a grandparent's attic, the visitors discover family stories that recount pivotal events in European history.

The installation encourages museum visitors to explore the historical narratives by combining digital and physical interactions. Visitors launch the experience by inserting one of six postcards, each representing a historical topic, into a black box. Once scanned, the postcard reveals sealed envelopes on the screen. The visitor can open each envelope on the touch screen to reveal one student's story letter accompanied by photos from public or family archives.

The graphic design evokes nostalgia, with old paper effects and vintage photographs, and the postcard is a keepsake from their experience with the installation.

The installation has been very well received [...]. People manage to instantly navigate it, play with the different postcards and seem to be even more enthusiastic about it when they discover it presents content produced by students. (Camilla Portesani from C2DH)

The installation is part of the Project "Public History as the New Citizen Science of the Past (PHACS)" led by Professor Thomas Cauvin and Camilla Portesani from the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH) at the University of Luxembourg.

Follow these links to find out more about the project:

Public History as the New Citizen Science of the Past (PHACS)

This FNR ATTRACT project (2020-2025) develops public history and participatory models for interpreting and communicating the past beyond academia.

C2DH EN

The Participatory Public History Lab

Collaborative history-making with the ‘Public History as the New Citizen Science of the Past’ project, from the University of Luxembourg

HOUSE OF EUROPEAN HISTORY