Enhancing the visitor experience in museums with Augmented Reality

Abstract

The so-called "one-size-fits-all" experiences do not apply to most of the museum visitors and this research addresses the compelling need of customized experiences in museums contexts. One of the audience groups that is often ignored by museums is the age group of teenagers since the segmentation is usually made between children and adults and there is little customization for the teens' generation. At the same time, studies have shown that this age group appears to be disinterested in what museums might offer. This project aims to ameliorate this problem by providing guidelines to museum practitioners of how the interest of teenagers towards museums could be increased through the integration of AR and QR Code Technology. The investigation took place in the Customs Exhibition of the Alfandega Transports and Communications Museum. A non-linear technology-mediated experience was developed to reinvigorate the exhibition. This experience integrated mobile Augmented Reality and QR Code technology with storytelling and gamification elements, specifically customized for the age group of teenagers. Regarding the development of this experience, the first prototype of the experience was assessed by experts in experience design, visitor studies, gaming, storytelling and design and then was re-designed according to the guidelines given by them. So, alongside with a validated customized experience, there are developed some guidelines that refer to how mobile AR and QR Code Technology can be used in a museum context to enhance the experience of the age group of teenagers. Thus, this research will contribute in lessening the gap that exists for empirical studies in museum literature in the area of visitor experience and specifically for the target group of teenagers.