Museum in a Box

What Museum in a Box does

Museum in a Box is a London-based Community Interest Company (CIC) founded in 2015 by George Oates that builds tactile, NFC-enabled hardware devices and curated object Collections to bring museum content into classrooms, care homes, and community settings. Its core product, "the Box," is a Raspberry Pi-based unit with speakers and an RFID reader that plays audio stories when physical objects bearing NFC stickers are placed on it. Content is authored, managed, and distributed via "Heart," a members-only web platform, and is delivered as bespoke Collections pairing 3D prints, postcards, and replica artifacts with corresponding audio. The Box Software runs on custom miab-brain NodeJS code with WiFi-based update and usage-logging ("Boop Log") capabilities.

The company serves museums and cultural institutions (Smithsonian Libraries, British Museum, Royal Mint Museum, V&A, Historic Royal Palaces, International Slavery Museum, Jewish Museum London, Fitzwilliam Museum, Iziko Museums, National Museum of Iraq, Monroe County History Center, Bata Heritage Centre, Scout Association), as well as downstream end-users in schools, care homes, and heritage programs. Its revenue mix combines three streams: direct hardware sales of "Make Your Own Kits" through an online shop, recurring annual or lifetime memberships to the Heart content platform, and bespoke commissioning services where Museum in a Box designs custom Collections for institutional clients. It operates with 1-10 employees across a London headquarters and a registered office in Littlehampton, and reports no external venture or private equity funding.

Name

Museum in a Box

Legal name

Museum in a Box CIC

Website

https://museuminabox.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Museum in a Box is a London-based CIC that builds NFC-enabled hardware devices and curated object Collections, enabling museums and cultural institutions to deliver tactile, audio-guided learning experiences to schools, care homes, and community audiences worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interactive Museum Hardware and Educational Technology

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (459120)

SIC

Games, Toys & Children's Vehicles (No Dolls & Bicycles) (3944)

akta.pro primary industry

DIY Kits, STEM Electronics & Maker Bundles Retail (CRACAKAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Educational/Children’s Learning Games & Puzzles Retail (CRALALAN), Toy Rentals & Subscription Boxes (CRALAFAK)

Keywords

• Interactive museum devices
• NFC audio storytelling
• Cultural heritage education
• Tactile learning tools
• Object-based learning kits

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales - Make Your Own Kits: Sale of physical Box hardware kits that include the device, NFC stickers, and starter cards. Customers can purchase Little Kits or Big Kits (3 boxes per) for organizations.
2. Membership Subscriptions: Annual membership (12 months) included with kit purchase provides access to the Heart web platform for creating and managing Collections. Lifetime memberships available for one-off purchase. When subscription expires, Collections become read-only.
3. Custom Commission Development: Museums and institutions commission Museum in a Box to develop custom Collections with specific themes, 3D prints, postcards, and audio content. Includes custom containers and Box hardware.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Museum in a Box designs, manufactures, and sells a small Raspberry Pi-based electronic device (the Box) equipped with an RFID reader and speakers. When museum objects tagged with NFC stickers are placed on the Box, it plays corresponding audio stories. The company sells Make Your Own Kits and Little/Big Kits through an online shop, and develops custom Collections for museums and cultural institutions on a commission basis. Content management is handled through the Heart members-only web platform.

Product overview

Museum in a Box is an educational technology company that creates physical-digital experiences for museums and cultural education. The core offering consists of 'The Box' - a Raspberry Pi-based electronic device with speakers and RFID reader - paired with 'Collections' of NFC-tagged objects that trigger audio stories when placed on the device. Content is managed through the 'Heart' web platform, where users create, edit, and distribute Collections. The company sells 'Make Your Own Kits' for DIY customers and offers commission services to create custom Collections for institutional clients. A membership model (annual or lifetime) provides access to the Heart platform for content management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Heart: The members-only web platform where users create and manage their collections, accessible at heart.museuminabox.org
• Make Your Own Kit
• The Box

Products and services

• The Box A small, portable electronic device built on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer with two speakers and an RFID reader. When museum objects with NFC stickers are placed on it, the Box plays corresponding audio stories. It connects to WiFi for content updates and tracks usage via a Boop Log.
• Collections Groups of objects (3D prints, postcards, or replica artifacts) that tell specific stories. Each object has an NFC sticker and is associated with audio content. Collections are managed through the Heart web platform and can run on any Box.
• Heart Web Platform Members-only web platform where users create, manage, and publish Collections. Tracks Boops (object interactions), manages Box inventory, and handles content distribution to Boxes via WiFi.
• Make Your Own Kit A do-it-yourself kit available in the online shop that allows customers to build their own Museum in a Box and create custom Collections. Includes 12-month membership to the Heart platform.
• Annual Membership (12-month) Annual subscription providing access to the Heart platform for creating and managing Collections. After expiration, Collections become read-only but remain installed on Boxes.
• Lifetime Membership One-time purchase membership option designed for institutional customers (e.g., universities) with project-based funding who prefer not to pay recurring fees. Attachable to a single user account.
• Custom Commissions Custom Collection development services where Museum in a Box partners with museums and cultural institutions to create bespoke object collections with audio content, 3D prints, and custom packaging.

Quantifiable outcome

• Royal Mint Museum achieved ~25,000 interactions with Boxes over 4 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Smithsonian Institution LibrariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnchor partner relationship. Smithsonian Libraries commissioned 11 Boxes with 2 Collections each for their UNSTACKED program across 7 schools and 2 discovery spaces in the USA. Funded by Asian Pacific American Initiatives Pool and Gates Foundation Youth Access Grant. Formal evaluation being conducted.
• British MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple commissions including Big Stuff from the British Museum collection. Partnership for National Museum of Iraq digitisation training program where British Museum staff trained Iraqi museum workers.
• Royal Mint MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLargest single deployment of 75 Boxes for reminiscence therapy program celebrating 50th anniversary of decimal currency. Custom 'What's that in new money?' collection with 9 objects and character Linda Thomas.
• International Slavery MuseummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommission for Transatlantic Slavery and Its Contemporary Significance collection with 2 3D models and 7 postcards. Audio from education demonstrators, curators, volunteers, and youth ambassadors.
• Historic Royal PalacesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTower of London commission for community engagement outreach. Collection explores fortress, palace, and prison themes with 18 postcards and custom head-shaped container.
• The Scout AssociationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational Lottery Heritage Fund supported project 'Moving Connections: Scouting and Displaced People'. Two collections: Home Front and Moving Connections. Includes 3D prints and replica Point It Out book.
• Fitzwilliam Museum (University of Cambridge)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAHRC Creative Economy Engagement fellowship research partnership with Dr. Abi Glen and Dr. Jennifer Wexler exploring how Museum in a Box can attract and develop new museum audiences.
• V&A MuseummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor museum partner listed alongside British Museum and Historic Royal Palaces for museum collections.
• Jewish Museum LondonmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst Box upgrade customer. WWI/WWII remembrance Box upgraded with new hardware, shortened audio tracks, and WiFi capability.
• Bata Heritage CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLife & Work at the British Bata Shoe Company collection with writer Samuel Bailey and actors, bringing East Tilbury Bata factory estate to life.
• Monroe County History CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReminiscence therapy pilot collection for dementia sufferers and carers in USA, combining original objects with 1960s photography.
• Iziko Museums (South Africa)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmagugu Ethu (Our Treasures) project with Zulu community experts, funded by Wenner Gren Foundation and University of Leicester GCRF. Workshop in Cape Town with box returned to KwaZulu-Natal.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Smartify: Smartify offers a mobile app that uses image recognition to identify artworks and trigger audio stories. It addresses the same museum engagement problem as Museum in a Box but via smartphone rather than dedicated hardware, making it a key substitute especially for consumer-facing deployments.
• Stqry: Stqry provides mobile app and web platforms for museums to build self-guided audio tours with NFC/QR triggers and rich media. It targets the same museum digital teams and offers a more software-only path to the same end-user experience.
• Tales of Things: Tales of Things was a research project (University of Dundee) that pioneered NFC-tagged objects triggering multimedia stories, conceptually very close to Museum in a Box's NFC sticker model. It represents a prior art / parallel research lineage in this object-triggered storytelling space.
• ThingLink: ThingLink allows creators to make interactive images and 360° media with embedded audio, video, and links, and is widely used by museums and educators for object-based learning. It competes for the same object-triggered storytelling use cases via web/tablet rather than NFC boxes.
• Cuseum: Cuseum provides digital engagement tools including mobile apps, AR experiences, and beacon-triggered content for museums and cultural institutions. It targets similar buyer personas (museum digital teams) with software-first solutions rather than dedicated hardware.
• Pixie (formerly HP Reveal/Aurasma): Pixie (with roots in HP's Aurasma AR platform) enables location/object-triggered multimedia experiences via mobile devices. Museums use it for AR overlays on exhibits, addressing similar tactile/object-based engagement goals as Museum in a Box but without dedicated hardware.

Broad incumbents

• Bloomberg Connects: Bloomberg Connects is a free app offering multimedia guides to 1,000+ cultural institutions globally, backed by Bloomberg Philanthropies. It competes with Museum in a Box's accessibility/outreach value proposition via smartphone, and benefits from essentially unlimited funding and scale.

Direct peers

• GuideID: GuideID offers smartphone-based audio tour platforms for museums, galleries, and heritage sites with NFC, QR, and beacon triggers. It overlaps directly with Museum in a Box's NFC-triggered audio storytelling model but uses visitors' own devices instead of dedicated boxes.
• Antenna International (acquired by Bayer): Antenna designs and produces multimedia audio guides and interactive experiences for museums and cultural sites worldwide. Like Museum in a Box it builds bespoke content + delivery hardware combinations for institutions such as Smithsonian, V&A and major US/UK museums.

Regional players

• Living Paintings: UK charity producing tactile and audio books for blind/partially sighted people. Shares the tactile-plus-audio learning mission with Museum in a Box (especially its care home and accessibility use cases) but focuses on publishing rather than object collections.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/_museuminabox
• GitHubgithub.com/museuminabox
• YouTubevimeo.com/museuminabox
• Facebookfacebook.com/hifrommuseuminabox
• Instagraminstagram.com/museuminabox_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Museum in a Box