Phenomenathings

Phenomenathings is a neologism used to describe objects or artifacts that embody a phenomenon — an observable event, process, or effect — and simultaneously function as tangible things. The term highlights the dual status of certain items as both representations of events and as material entities that can be studied, displayed, or interacted with. In practice, phenomenathings appear in science communication, museums, media studies, and digital culture.

Originating in informal scholarly and curatorial discourse in the late 2000s and 2010s, phenomenathings gained traction as a shorthand for discussing how phenomena become material objects through recording, visualization, and fabrication. The concept foregrounds the process by which distant or abstract events are rendered legible and shareable as objects.

Examples include time-lapse videos and data visualizations that encode dynamic events as objects, physical models or replicas used in teaching, and curated displays that preserve and communicate a phenomenon for study or public engagement. In digital contexts, interactive dashboards or augmented reality representations that embody a phenomenon can qualify as phenomenathings when they stand on their own as interpretable objects.

Phenomenathings facilitate comprehension by linking observation to material form, enabling critique of how knowledge about a phenomenon is produced, stored, and shared. They intersect with concepts such as data artifacts, interpretive displays, and material culture.

Because the term is broad and informal, some scholars argue it risks vagueness or conflation of separate ideas. It is typically used as a working concept rather than a formal category.

See also: artifact, data visualization, representation, material culture, phenomenology.