Crime Story as a Tool for Scientific and Technological Outreach

In a world where public engagement is increasingly important, where there is the urge of leaving the research laboratories to tell people what is being done, and where the effort from Academy is still limited, we propose Death on the Nile, a novel experience to get people in touch with innovative interactive technologies. In our exhibition, visitors are invited to solve a crime while they get in touch with the new frontiers of Human-Computer Interaction. Also, participants can experience the different stages of the research process through the metaphor of the investigation. An empirical study (N=969) shows that Death on the Nile is engaging and effective as a method through which to present HCI research. Finally, we conceptualize the experience into a framework that can be used with potentially any interactive technology.