Immersive art through VR, AR and gamification: The new hope for museums?

Museums are usually thought of as places where art , artifacts , and collections of cultural interest are displayed. But in an age of shortened attention spans, it is becoming increasingly clear that museums can be more than just aesthetic objects to look at.

They need to actively engage their visitors. To achieve this, many institutions are turning to games in their various forms to attract and inform visitors.

Games can be effective educational tool for both adults and children in exhibitions

Many museums worldwide have immersive art , virtual reality , augmented reality , and gamification . There are countless ways museums can engage visitors through gamification. It's also important to note that these concepts can be applied to any exhibition, not just art or history museums.

Here you will find only a few of them.

Virtual reality

The Louvre in Paris and Nintendo partnered in 2012 to develop the "Nintendo DS Louvre Guide." can view works of art using GPS and 3D images

In addition to high-resolution images, the guide also offers audio and video commentary . This is an example of how technology can enhance the museum experience by allowing visitors to gain a deeper understanding of the exhibits through virtual tours.

VR and AR are ideal for improving museum engagement because they are readily available. The fact that museums have no shortage of material to showcase in these tours is also an advantage.

Video: Augmented Reality (AR) Applications for Museums (English)

The Met Unframed AR Experience

From the initial idea to its execution, the Clio Awards team examines in detail in the following video how “The Met Unframed” gave its audience the opportunity to experience art in such an innovative new way, reimagining what it means to visit a museum even when you cannot enter it.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art ( The Met ) in New York partnered with 140-Verizon to create this innovative experience at a time when people most needed inspiration.

Personalization and individualized learning

Audio tours are nothing new for museums, but there's still much to be done when it comes to engagement. The problem with most audio tours is that they're generally the same for everyone. Gamification allows museums to make the experience interactive and personalized learning .

When visitors have the opportunity to create their own tour, they are more likely to engage, as the content is tailored to their specific interests. This allows them to learn at their own pace and explore the museum in a way that suits them best.

By far the best example of adaptation and individualized learning through an audio tour is an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam . The exhibition allows visitors to learn more about Van Gogh's life and work through audio recordings.

The Van Gogh Museum 4K Virtual Tour

Have you always wanted to be alone in the Van Gogh Museum? Step into Vincent's world and enjoy the private video tour.

A compilation of all galleries of the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam:

The best part is that a voice actor, who plays Van Gogh himself, reads the stories. This creates a personal connection that's missing in regular audio guides. It's an interesting variation on the concept that other museums should consider.

Immersive art by Klimt and Kahlo

The new exhibition “Klimt’s Kiss” at Utopia in Munich offers the opportunity to experience artworks like never before. Since March 15th, visitors have been able to immerse themselves in the world of Gustav Klimt . Following the successful presentations of works by Vincent van Gogh and Frida Kahlo , tickets are in high demand.

The concept is simple: Huge video projections on walls, floor and ceiling create an immersive atmosphere , accompanied by soundscapes and narrators' voices that tell more about Gustav Klimt and his artworks.

The key word here is “immersive” , which means that visitors can immerse themselves in the world of the protagonists.

Kim Haußer from the trend office in Munich sees the new exhibitions as an opportunity to escape everyday life, Abendzeitung München

The high visitor numbers are directly related to the growing fascination with the fusion of digital and physical worlds . These new art exhibitions break with the familiar barriers in front of valuable artworks and enable a completely new art experience.

As a producer of multimedia art at Utopia in Munich, Nepomuk Schessl enthusiastic about “Immersive Art” . This innovative art form allows a broad audience to enjoy art and culture without prior knowledge or specific expertise.

The narrator, Emilie Flöge, Klimt's former lover, accompanies visitors through "Klimt's Kiss" and guides them through the exhibition. This immersive art form is thus a wonderful way to make art and culture accessible to everyone.

In the future, we may no longer view traditional works of art on canvas in museums, but instead be guided through multimedia shows in event spaces.

According to AZ, this trend is confirmed by researcher Haußer :

The art world will continue to be influenced by advancing digitalization. Europe's first and largest digital museum will open in Hamburg's HafenCity in 2024

Visitors will even be able to interact with and modify the artworks. For Schessl, such multimedia presentations are a valuable addition to traditional exhibitions and a forward-looking form of presentation.

Role-playing games in exhibitions

While the first two options are technology-oriented, the next one focuses on old-fashioned human interaction. The Swedish open-air museum consists of a reconstructed historical wooden building complex combined with an indoor museum filled with Viking relics.

The Viking Museum Foteviken in Sweden

The open-air museum Foteviken , located in southern Sweden, is within sight of the Öresund Bridge from the Baltic Sea coast. Unlike conventional museums, it does not contain large rooms full of display cases with exhibits.

Instead, the museum focuses on authenticity, presenting visitors with a small Viking town that likely looked exactly like this in the 12th century. The museum is the largest of its kind in Scandinavia. The houses and everyday objects found within were made with materials and tools available to the Vikings at that time.

In the following video, you will accompany Karsten Hartmann on a tour of the museum on a windy summer day. There is also a campervan site with approximately 10 spaces directly next to the museum.

Visitors interested in Swedish history are encouraged to participate in role-playing games by receiving a time travel passport. The idea is for visitors to experience firsthand how the Vikings lived centuries ago, complete with appropriate costumes and a suitable environment.

This is a great way to immerse yourself in the culture, and also an excellent method of teaching history in an entertaining and interactive way.

Individual experience through social media

More and more museums are using social media to connect with their visitors. It's a great way to connect with people from all over the world without them having to be physically present in the museum.

While many big names are already present on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, some museums are going a step further to offer their followers a more personalized experience. Offering online learning games via social media .

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh offers many mini-games where users can learn about ancient Egypt, the Picts, or microbiology.

The National Museum Of Scotland Tour

The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh houses the history of Scotland and contains an amazing collection of Scottish antiquities and cultural artifacts. There are also some scientific exhibits and a room full of magnificent stuffed and plastic animals.

Join Ruairidh Mason on a tour of the museum:

The museum's games are designed to be fast-paced and educational, introducing players to the museum through fun tasks and challenges.

They can be played online or on-site, inside or outside the museums.