Virtual reality in museums: Exploring the experiences of museum professionals
Journal
Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
Date Issued
June 1, 2020
Author(s)
Abstract
© 2020 by the authors. The past few years have seen an increase in the use of virtual reality (VR) in museum environments in an attempt for museums to embrace technological innovations and adapt to the challenges of the digital era. While there are studies that examine the advantages ofVRin museums and visitors' experiences with it, there are no studies examining the experiences of museum professionals who are responsible for a museum's objects and narratives. The aim of this paper is to explore the practices, experiences, and perceptions of museum professionals on the use of VR technology in museums, their perceived advantages and challenges of such technologies, and their vision for the future of technology in museums. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of interviews with museum professionals from a number of countries around the world who worked with particular VR projects in their own institutions. The ultimate aim is to offer a more critical and holistic examination and assessment of the use of VR in museums and provide suggestions for designing and developing VR projects in the future.
Funding
This research is part of the project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 739578 (RISE-Call: H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017-TeamingPhase2) and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus through the Directorate General for European Programs, Coordination and Development. The authors would like to thank all the museum professionals that participated in this research for their time, collaboration and valuable insights they provided. Without their contribution this research would not have been possible. We would also like to thank the editors and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions and for the time they invested in reviewing our paper.
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