We wrote this article in 2016, after visiting some small museums in Italy and attending a conference organised by their association in Viterbo. Our aim was to ponder about the role of museums and the use of technology. Today, the need to do so is even more stringent and we have started in 2019 to work on a different approach and technology to our guides. We will come back on this topic in the coming weeks. Meanwhile here are some of our thoughts following our tours in Italy. One of the question which have followed us from the beginning of our project was: are we sure that we are proposing something innovative and useful and not a refined but obsolete model? Listening to some participants to the meeting if small museums in Viterbo the impression is that to a certain extent top down guides, like audio guides or written guides do have their limits in terms of raising interest and ensuring appropriation of the museums offering by the public. For sure, the guides can be ve