In the wise words of psychologist Abraham Maslow, "In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety."
As we explore avenues for growth, it's worth contemplating if stepping back is even safe.
Take a look at the current number of people visiting the most cherished museums across the world. With drops as severe as 77% – prompt an urgent inquiry: Have museums lost their relevance?
The Digital Artwork Market is currently booming and is expected to triple in value from $4 billion in 2023 to $ 12.1 billion by 2030.
Therefore, it's clear that public interest in art remains undiminished.
The challenge, then, is not in the content but in the mode of engagement.
So, how do we transform that?
A green flag-bearer of engagement in 2024 is gamification.
In the corporate world, it has been credited with a 48% surge in employee engagement, while 30% of surveyed business workers reported a significant boost in their workplace involvement. The educational sector echoes these successes, where gamification has enhanced learning outcomes and catapulted student engagement and productivity by up to 50%.
In this article, we will understand how gamification in museums will allow the industry to interact better with visitors and engage a new generation of museum enthusiasts.
5 Ways Gamification In Museums Is Transforming Visitor Experience
Elevating Interactivity Through Senses
One of the primary challenges museums face is creating memorable visitor experiences that go beyond passive observation.
The Swiss Science Center Technorama in Winterthur, Switzerland, exemplifies the pinnacle of interactive engagement. With over 500 experimental stations, visitors are not merely observers but active participants in the discovery process.
These stations enable direct interaction with natural phenomena, allowing visitors to touch, feel, and recreate surprising elements of the natural world. This hands-on approach fosters a deeper understanding and appreciation of scientific principles.
Moreover, the presence of knowledgeable staff enhances this interactivity, facilitating meaningful social interactions and ensuring that visitors' experiences are both educational and socially enriching.
Museums Leveraging Augmented Reality for Immersive Experiences
Did you know that the popular AR game Pokémon GO app got over 8.5 million downloads globally?
This gamified technology represents a groundbreaking solution for museums to bridge the gap between the tangible past and the immersive potential of digital technology.
For instance, the Art and History Museum of Geneva employs AR to reconstruct ancient statues in 3D, allowing visitors to appreciate artifacts in their original splendor. Similarly, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum uses AR to foster a personal connection between visitors and the victims of the Shoah, by revealing individual stories behind historical photographs, thus overcoming the challenge of "compassion fade."
Moreover, the de Young Museum's collaboration with Snap Inc. for the "Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style" exhibition illustrates AR's capacity to create interactive, personalized experiences. Visitors could virtually try on historical fashion pieces, breaking down barriers between the viewer and the exhibit and offering a unique, immersive way to engage with the museum's collections.
Speaking of AR, let’s move on to our next example.
Recreating History With AR & VR
Did you know research centers are now using AR and VR technology to increase tourism at UNESCO World Heritage sites?
The Dunhuang Mogao caves, endangered by the very tourism they attract, present a significant challenge: the delicate balance between preserving these irreplaceable treasures and making them accessible to the public.
This is where the Dunhuang Research Academy steps in. In collaboration with the City University of Hong Kong, the academy captured detailed 3D scans and photographs and created an exact virtual replica of one of the Mogao caves.
This VR recreation not only protects the physical integrity of the cave by reducing the need for physical visits but also enhances the visitor experience. The virtual model allows for color enhancements and the addition of elements such as animated dancers and 3D representations of musical instruments, creating an engaging, immersive experience that can surpass the physical visit.
Moreover, an AR version of this recreation projects the 3D scan onto the walls of a dark booth, mirroring the dimensions of the actual cave. Visitors explore the virtual cave through a tablet screen, mimicking the experience of navigating the shadowy recesses of the cave with a flashlight.
Escape Rooms in Museums - Adding Thrill and Immersion
"More than ever, today museums are perceived by youngsters as “boring places” without any appeal." This is what Eliana Ameli struggled with before creating the Roman cistern escape room.
"We wanted to stop this perception not losing the main purpose of the Art’s museums and archaeological areas: preserve and spread the meanings of the past. That’s why we don’t look at the game itself as an enemy but as an ally that can help us to do our job: communicate the culture,” Ameli noted.
Escape rooms are extremely popular amongst the younger crowds. In 2019, the average US-based escape room location was making $317,571.
And, museums are starting to take advantage of this opportunity.
For instance, the Louvre Museum in Paris leveraged its picturesque Tuileries Garden to host the “Mysteries at the Tuileries” adventure game. This initiative allowed visitors to delve into the museum's history and surroundings through a treasure hunt, engaging visitors of all ages with various levels of difficulty and enigmatic challenges.
Meanwhile, the Diefenbunker Museum in Ottawa offers an even more immersive experience by turning the entire museum into the world's largest escape room, where visitors play out a narrative of averting a nuclear disaster. This educates visitors about the Cold War era and adds a thrilling layer of engagement through problem-solving and teamwork.
Museums Are Immortalizing Visits
Human beings enjoy being included.
94% of consumers say they go for brands they have an emotional connection with.
Now the challenge is: how do museums allow visitors to connect with exhibits and the staff?
Gamification solves this problem through the innovative integration of digital footprints.
A prime example of this approach is seen at Samsung D’light in Seoul, South Korea. This exhibition space, designed to showcase Samsung's future technology, ingeniously incorporates interactive elements that allow visitors to leave their mark within the exhibit.
Through a series of themed booths, visitors engage in short, creative activities, including a personality test that culminates in unique, often humorous photos.
More than mementos for visitors to keep and share on social media, these images are also displayed within the exhibition itself, contributing to a collective visitor experience.
Benefits of Gamification In Museums
Improving Visitor Involvement: Gamification transforms the museum visit into an interactive and playful experience, appealing to all ages. It fosters enjoyment and immersion, making the visit more memorable.
Motivating Learning: By presenting educational content in a fun and engaging way, gamification boosts learning and information retention among museum visitors.
Catering Diverse Visitors: It broadens the appeal of museums, drawing in younger visitors and those who might not typically be interested in traditional exhibits, catering to various learning styles.
Maximizing Museum Spend Time: Interactive exhibits and gamified challenges encourage visitors to spend more time exploring, enhancing their overall experience and engagement.
Understanding Museum Audience: Utilizing location-based gamification technology allows museums to gather valuable data on visitor behavior and engagement, informing future exhibits and improving museum operations.
Your Ally in Implementing Gamification in Museums
The implementation of gamification within museums has proven its value in creating deeply engaging and memorable visitor experiences. However, despite its demonstrated benefits, the field of gamification remains significantly underutilized, with many institutions treating the visitor experience as a fleeting, one-off event.
The true potential of gamification lies in fostering a continuous connection that begins before arrival and persists long after departure.
Creating a compelling gamified experience that resonates with visitors on such a level involves complex design and execution challenges.
This is where Museums22 comes into play, offering its expertise in technology solutions specifically tailored for the museum context. With a comprehensive suite of services, Museums22 provides museums with the tools needed to create a seamless, integrated gamification experience:
Mobile Apps: A full app solution that goes beyond a simple audio guide, incorporating galleries, exhibitions, events, and more for enriched visitor engagement.
Audio Guide Apps: Customizable multilingual audio tours enhanced with QR code integration for an immersive narrative experience.
GPS Tours Apps: Location-sensitive, audio-guided tours that offer a personal digital tour guide experience, complete with navigational assistance and visual elements.
Web Gallery & Collection: Dynamic, web-based galleries and exhibitions that extend the museum experience to online platforms, making it accessible anywhere, anytime.
What more?
By simplifying everyday tasks and streamlining visitor data management, museums can enhance their connection with visitors through targeted social media interactions, notifications, and newsletters. Moreover, Museums22 offers the ability to track visitor preferences and behaviors that provide invaluable insights for future planning and exhibit optimization.