In the past ten decades, technology has proven that it can revolutionize the museum experience. Today, most museums have adopted technology in their daily operations. The Internet, digital devices, and computing tools are all currently being utilized to ensure that museum visitors have a pleasant experience. Museum operators are also increasingly embracing new technologies to attract more visitors on-site, offer their audience a more personalized experience, and diversify the population of their visitors and audience.
Today, museums are making use of virtual assistants who usually serve as tour guides for visitors. These virtual assistants are often programmed to do specific tasks or to answer specific questions. For instance, at the Ontario Regiment RCAC Museum in Canada, a virtual assistant called Lana is changing visitor’s experience. The museum programmed the virtual assistant to answer questions that museum visitors often asked the most. The virtual assistant was also helpful in helping the museum develop a touchless entry and reception experience immediately after the Covid 19 pandemic.
Also, museums are using virtual reality to ensure that their visitors have a more immersive experience when they visit. In 2017, the Science Museum, London began using virtual reality to immerse their visitors in the UK’s rich timeline of time travel. Through virtual reality, visitors could have a simulated experience of Tim Peake’s journey back to Earth after a mission to space sponsored by the European Space Agency. This experience includes a 12-minute video narration by Tim Peake and a view of the interior of the Soyuz space capsule.
Similarly, the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, uses augmented and virtual reality to help visitors experience history in real-time. The museum has achieved this through the adoption of an innovative 360-degree immersive experience. Among other benefits, this project makes it possible for users to have a more up-close and immersive experience of artifacts and artworks within the museum. The 360-degree experience avails visitors at the museum a form of time-travel experience, bringing history closer to its audience.
According to MuseumNext, 850 million people visit galleries in the United States every year. Similarly, the American Alliance of Museums noted that museums and galleries rake in $21 billion in economic activity every year. However, there is more untapped potential. Technologies like social media and the Internet are instrumental in starting marketing campaigns and conversations about the need to visit museums.
Further, more museums are making deliberate efforts to digitalize their collections. For instance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has decided to digitalize about 380,000 images in its collection to make art more accessible to low-income individuals. Individuals from low-income households can barely afford museum entry fees. So, digitalizing museum collections would mean that people who cannot afford museum fees can access these collections in the comfort of their homes. This need to ensure open access to museum collections is particularly helpful because it helps the museums reach a larger audience.
Technology has also made it significantly easier for museum authorities to know and get familiar with their visitors. For instance, museums can use real-time location intelligence and behavior-based messaging to create personalized welcome messages for their visitors. Similarly, museums can use real-time data insights to better understand what fascinates most of their visitors while curating experiences that their visitors will be interested in.
Finally, it is important to note that, contrary to making it obsolete, when properly utilized, technology can make the museum experience more fascinating. When museum administrators adopt a more efficient use of technology, they can improve visitor interest and focus on their collections.
