Cognition, care, and cultural place-making: Narrative responses across two museum settings

Abstract

This study examined how two Thai museums—the National Science Museum (NSM) and Museum Siam—function as culturally situated environments that activate autobiographical and embodied memory, supporting emotional well-being and intergenerational connection. Sixty-four participants (32 older adults and 32 caregivers) engaged in a photo-elicitation protocol, photographing exhibits and narrating reflections. Thematic analysis identified four recurring themes: Cultural Anchoring, Civic Consciousness, Nostalgia of Childhood, and Intergenerational Affection. At the NSM, cognitively intact and non-depressed participants demonstrated broader thematic diversity, including future-oriented reflections, whereas participants screened positive for possible mild cognitive impairment or depressive symptoms engaged more narrowly with health literacy and family-related themes. These subgroup patterns are interpreted as exploratory due to small cell sizes. At Museum Siam, dyadic analysis revealed both congruent and divergent storytelling; interpretive differences functioned as relational resources, enriching intergenerational remembering rather than producing conflict. Across sites, emotional expressions—including gratitude, nostalgia, and pride—illustrate how museums spaces mediate memory, identity, and care through place-based experience. By articulating the mechanisms through which spatial design, narrative engagement, and relational interaction intersect, the study contributes to social-scientific understandings of cultural institutions as infrastructures for healthy ageing and community-based social prescribing in diverse contexts.