WANG, YU-CHUN
Department and Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science, National Taiwan University, Graduate Student
E-mail:tnkpkn1246@gmail.com
LIN, WEIJANE
Department and Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science, National Taiwan University, Associate Professor
E-mail:vjlin@ntu.edu.tw
Abstract
Virtual reality technologies have been applied to many museums and tours to accommodate and develop visitors’ diversified viewing styles and perspectives. With the strengths of VR to simulate and build up a rather immersive and comprehensive world, previous endeavors of museum VR focused on individual exhibits or artifacts, and few attentions were paid to the larger eco system of the museums and the surroundings. Eco-museum studies, on the other hand, were mostly based on higherlevel philosophical discussions on the idea or conceptual framework, and more empirical studies would be required to investigate and testify the idea. Therefore, this study intends to use VR technology to build a virtual eco-museum to explore if VR affordance of simulation and immersion facilitate visitors’ eco-museum experiences. Based on NTU Museums, this study designed and developed a virtual eco-museum for visitors to access via their mobile devices with their behaviors being recorded. A total of 117 participants, aged from 14 – 39, volunteered to take part in this study with informed consent.
Results from both the quantitative and qualitative analysis suggested that visiting the virtual eco-museum not only significantly enhance visitors’ understanding of the eco-museum concept, but also improve visitors’ recognition of NTU Museums’ mission and functions for the regional culture, and increased their visiting willingness.
Keywords :eco-museum, virtual reality, museum experience, museum learning