Today we’re taking a closer look at augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) integration in museums. Truly, it’s still early days for these technological developments, and there’s an undeniable element of trial and error in how museums utilize this tech.
It’s good practice to check in on the types of AR and VR enhancements favored by museums, to witness the evolution of the form, if you will. Next week, we’ll explore of the biggest problems with using these technologies in your museum. We learn from those who’ve gone before us!
Practical Benefits of AR and VR Use in Museums
1. Enhanced Visitor Engagement
AR and VR are both so appealing because they offer a more immersive experience, allowing visitors to engage with exhibits in ways that were previously impossible.
It’s important to note the key differences between the two: AR can overlay digital information onto physical exhibits, providing additional context or storytelling elements. Think of AR as a combination of real-world objects plus digital elements. AR typically requires a device like a smartphone or tablet and is accessed through an app or on the web. Here’s a handy rundown of the different types of AR and examples of each.
VR is for full immersion. It can transport visitors to different times or places, creating a virtual environment within the physical space of the museum. Instead of traditional observation, visitors get to walk in someone else’s shoes, so to speak. VR in situ requires equipment like headsets, glasses, controllers, even a dome.
Related studies:
The Restorative Potential of Augmented Reality
Investigating the Behavioral Intentions of Museum Visitors Toward VR
2. Interactive Exhibits
Interactive exhibits powered by AR and VR allow visitors to interact with historical artifacts, artworks, or scientific phenomena. An AR application might allow a visitor to virtually “unearth” dinosaur bones in a natural history museum or see a painting restoration come to life.
You’ve likely heard of the Pokémon Go approach, in which a museum uses AR to create a scavenger hunt. Visitors get to gamify their museum experience, finding and photographing items according to prompts.
Generally, the easiest way to trigger interaction with an AR experience is through the use of QR codes placed strategically throughout a museum. If you are nervous about the technological barrier for visitors, consider having docents demonstrate on a tablet or essentially mediate the experience.
Companies like Artivive and Smartify are making inroads in this digital space. When starting out, you might want to look into web-based AR experiences, which don’t require an app. 8th Wall is a big player in web-based AR. Design a project yourself or browse their network of verified WebAR production studios.
Related read: How 5 Museums are Using AR Right Now
3. Virtual Tours and Accessibility
VR technology allows museums to offer virtual tours, making collections accessible to a wider audience. It connects anyone who cannot physically visit a museum due to geographical, financial, or mobility constraints.
See how the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts uses Google Arts & Culture to share its collection and offer virtual tours of the museum interior. Google Arts & Culture has become increasingly popular, featuring content form more than 2000 museums. The Anne Frank House maintains a permanent, multilingual VR tour of the Secret Annex for people who are unable to travel to the physical space.
Museum tours can be as simple as a slideshow of high-res images with accompanying information to more complex virtual walkthroughs with guided narratives, interactive elements, and 360° views. Check out this roundup of The 75 Best Virtual Museum Tours Around the World [Art, History, Science, and Technology] for all sorts of examples of virtual tours.
Related read: This paper is essentially a manual on how to set up a virtual museum, including tools, platforms, and guidelines.
4. Educational Tools
Educational programs and school field trips have begun utilizing AR/VR technologies as an interactive and more engaging way to learn about history, science, and art — as opposed to the more traditional group lecture model.
VR could reconstruct settlements of ancient civilizations or enable space exploration, making abstract concepts more tangible for students and allowing for a holistic understanding of the subject.
To me, one of the biggest benefits of AR/VR is the ability to provide depth, whether that’s contextual depth or a literal closer look at objects.
Related reads:
Virtual and Augmented Reality Bring Historical Objects to Life
The Promise of Immersive Learning: Augmented and Virtual Reality’s Potential in Education
5. Preservation and Digital Archiving
These technologies are also used for the preservation and digital archiving of exhibits. High-resolution 3D scans and VR models can preserve the details of artifacts that may be too delicate to handle frequently. And in the event that an item is lost altogether, the detailed digital counterpart remains.
AR offers a non-invasive solution by allowing us to create high-fidelity digital replicas that can be accessed and explored virtually. This not only protects the physical integrity of these artifacts but also ensures that they can be studied, admired, and shared … without risking damage or deterioration. (Source: AR for Cultural Heritage Preservation: Digitizing the Past for Future Generations)
AR can provide detailed, zoomable views of these digital archives. Even the aforementioned Google Arts & Culture collaborations allow users to “zoom in and discover extraordinary levels of detail.”
Here’s an interesting point about preservation vis-à-vis the Smithsonian’s exhibition No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man, from MuseumNext:
The legendary Burning Man event takes place every year in the Nevada desert. A temporary city of artists and revelers emerges from the wilderness each August. It is both an art event and a cultural movement. Massive art installations rise throughout the festival and are then burned. The Smithsonian’s collection displayed some of these incredible large-scale sculptures. Visitors were also able to learn about the spirit and origins of the event.
Although the exhibition closed in January 2019, the VR experience is still available. People can continue enjoying the exhibition despite the fact that the physical collection no longer exists. This is one of VR’s benefits. It can create lasting records of otherwise temporary experiences. (Source: Virtual Reality Is A Big Trend In Museums, But What Are The Best Examples Of Museums Using VR?)
6. Storytelling and Narrative Experiences
AR and VR enable museums to craft rich, immersive stories around their exhibits. This type of storytelling can include audio-visual elements, interactive choices, and narrative pathways that engage visitors on a deeper emotional level.
CARNE y ARENA (Virtually present, Physically invisible) is an acclaimed storytelling experience that explores the human condition of immigrants and refugees. Based on true accounts, the superficial lines between subject and bystander are blurred, allowing visitors to live a fragment of the refugees’ personal journeys.
I like this take on the British Museum’s use of VR for items in its Bronze Age collection:
The focus was not on finding a way to include VR, but rather finding a way to help visitors better understand an era and a collection. If more museums incorporated VR into their storytelling process like the British Museum, then maybe more people would better understand difficult areas of history. (Source: The State of Museum Digital Practice 2019)
7. User-Generated Content and Social Media Integration
Integrating AR and VR with user-generated content allows visitors to create and share their experiences on social media. It promotes visitor engagement and has the added benefit of increasing a museum’s visibility online.
Here’s a quick look at options for creating social media filters for your museum.
The “try-on” feature is becoming a staple of online shopping, and it can be used at museums, too. In 2023, the Design Museum in London launched Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion. As part of the exhibition, visitors are able to experiment with make-up and headwear looks from nine actual runway creations through AR-enhanced mirrors.
Snapchat leads the charge on AR filter technology and has begun supporting the arts, partnering with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco for Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style. In this exhibition, Snap AR mirrors allow visitors to try on looks from iconic designers.
8. Hybrid Exhibitions
Museums are increasingly creating hybrid exhibitions that combine physical artifacts with digital overlays. These exhibitions use AR to enhance physical objects with interactive digital content, blending the tangible and the virtual seamlessly.
A common example of this is when museums use AR to overlay a fully-realized animal onto a skeleton. Or using AR to display a digital version of an artist next to their work, or a guide who can provide context and expertise.
The Art Gallery of Ontario used AR to great success in its ReBlink exhibit. Visitors downloaded the app and used their device’s camera to see modern twists overlayed on historic works of art.
AR and VR can also bring lost history back to us, which creates the conditions for a compelling visitor experience. Museums can “bring back” objects and places lost to time or destroyed. SAOLA Studio famously partnered with the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris for REVIVRE, which recreated extinct animals in 3D, life-size form before one’s eyes.
9. Customizable Visitor Experiences
AR and VR technologies can be tailored to offer personalized experiences for each visitor. Ultimately, interactive guides and apps will be able to offer adjustable content based on visitor preferences, learning styles, or even the amount of time a visitor has available. It’ll be like optimizing your museum visit.
Right now, the simplest form of customization is giving people the ability to choose what to inspect more closely. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden uses the Hirshhorn Eye as an in-gallery guide that uses image recognition to scan art as you go, instantly unlocking exclusive artist videos and insider info.
Eye of the Owl is a Hieronymus Bosch VR experience in which viewers can go back in time to the artist’s studio to view “The Garden of Earthly Delights” in otherwise impossible detail while the artist describes the scenes. The virtual magnifying glass and magic carpet shrink function let us see the characters life-sized and in even more detail.
10. Collaboration and Shared Experiences
Museums can promote their virtual tours as an avenue for collaborative and shared experiences. After all, visitors can explore virtual environments together, even if they are physically apart. This can be a particularly engaging option for school groups, who can take a “field trip” from the classroom and pair it with collaborative exercises.
Real-world applications: For a flat fee, The Broad in Los Angeles offers a 45-minute virtual group tour that consists of a live guided tour through the gallery via Zoom.
At Digimuseo, you can explore museum special exhibitions independently, either alone or with a friend, or buy a virtual guided tour with a museum guide.
What’s the takeaway here? The integration of AR and VR in museums is a transformative force that is redefining how museums operate and engage with audiences. Although these are still emerging technologies, there is much to learn from experimentation — even vicariously. As AR and VR continue to evolve, the potential applications in the museum sector will only expand, and it’ll be very, very interesting to witness all the creative and educational applications.
