Visitors, Museums, and Mobiles Final Project Report December 10, 2017 Adam Bettigole Nicole Candanedo Michelle Gencorelli Matthew Newell Visitors, Museums, and Mobiles Project: KKO - MVCP An Interactive Qualifying Project Proposal Submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science Submitted on December 10, 2017 Submitted By: Submitted To: Adam Bettigole Carolyn Meehan Nicole Candanedo Manager, Audience Insights Michelle Gencorelli Museum Victoria Matthew Newell Project Advisors: Professor Karen K. Oates Professor Fred J. Looft This report represents the work of WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review. For more information about the projects program at WPI, please refer to http://www.wpi.edu/academics/ugradstudies/project-learning.html Abstract This project provided Museums Victoria with data on visitors’ current uses of mobile devices in the Melbourne Museum and their interest in mobile technology, and gave recommendations for further integrating these devices. Through visitor observations and exit surveys, data showed that visitors were generally interested in engaging with technology and commonly used their devices to take pictures, especially of family members and the dinosaur exhibit. We recommended that the museum create an interactive digital map accessible via a mobile device, advertise the free Wi-Fi, and explore the implementation of an augmented reality photo booth and a scavenger hunt application. This study will allow Museums Victoria to further the development of mobile technology to enhance the visitor experience. i Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Literature Review .......................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Museums Victoria: Site Profile and Mission ........................................................................ 3 2.1.1 Stakeholders.................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Growth of Mobile Technology Globally ............................................................................... 5 2.2.1 Growth Of Mobile Device Usage in Australia ............................................................... 8 2.3 Mobile Technology in Museum Settings .............................................................................. 9 2.3.1 Mobile-based Interactive Platforms in Museums ............................................................ 10 2.4 Analyzing Visitors Through Museum Studies .................................................................... 15 2.4.1 Methods of Collecting Data .......................................................................................... 15 2.5 Case Studies in Museum Engagement ................................................................................ 16 Case study 1: The Indianapolis Museum of Art .................................................................... 16 Case study 2: Cooper Hewitt Museum .................................................................................. 17 2.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 18 Chapter 3: Methodology ............................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Establish a database of all current electronic device usage and visitor behavior in the Melbourne Museum .................................................................................................................. 19 3.1.1 Surveying of Museum Visitors ..................................................................................... 19 3.1.2 Observing Behavior of Museum Visitors ..................................................................... 20 3.2 Define expectations and appeal of mobile technology for enhancing the visitor experience in museums ................................................................................................................................ 21 3.2.1 Site Visits ...................................................................................................................... 21 3.2.2 Exhibit Interest Rating Exercise ................................................................................... 21 3.3 Evaluate visitors’ initial responses and engagement with one upcoming museum exhibition ................................................................................................................................................... 22 3.3.1 Inside Out Exhibit Audio Tour ..................................................................................... 22 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion ................................................................................................ 23 4.1 Establish a database of current electronic device usage and visitor behavior in the Melbourne Museum .................................................................................................................. 23 4.1.1 Results from Surveying Museum Visitors.................................................................... 23 4.1.2 Results from Observing Behavior of Museum Visitors ............................................... 25 ii 4.1.3 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 31 4.2 Define expectations and appeal of mobile technology for enhancing the visitation experience in museums ............................................................................................................. 35 4.2.1 Results from Site Visits ................................................................................................ 35 4.2.2 Results from Exhibit Interest Rating Exercise ............................................................. 38 4.2.3 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 39 4.3 Evaluate visitors’ responses of an upcoming museum exhibition ...................................... 43 4.3.1 Results from Inside Out Exhibit Audio Tour ............................................................... 43 4.3.2 Inside Out Exhibit Audio Tour Discussion .................................................................. 45 4.4 General Discussion .............................................................................................................. 47 Chapter 5: Recommendations and Conclusion ............................................................................. 49 Part 1. Recommendations .......................................................................................................... 49 Part 2. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 54 References ..................................................................................................................................... 55 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 59 Appendix A: Guest Exit Survey ................................................................................................ 59 Appendix B: Exhibit Interest Rating Exercise .......................................................................... 60 Appendix C: Visitor Observation Survey ................................................................................. 62 Appendix D: Melbourne Museum Map .................................................................................... 64 Appendix E: Visitor Observation Data from SPSS ................................................................... 65 Appendix F: Visitor Observation Data Summary to Museums Victoria .................................. 68 Appendix G: Complete Data from Exhibit Interest Rating Exercise ........................................ 71 Appendix H: Inside Out Evaluation by Audience Insights Team ............................................. 73 Appendix I: Exit Survey Data Summary to Museums Victoria ................................................ 79 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Percent of Adults Who Own a Smartphone, by Country ........................................... 6 Figure 2: Percent of Adults in the U.S. Owning Specific Devices ............................................ 7 Figure 3: Australian Smartphone and Tablet Ownership .......................................................... 8 Figure 4: Goals for Mobile Programs in Museums ................................................................. 10 Figure 5: Top US Museum Mobile Offerings.......................................................................... 11 Figure 6: Quick Response (QR) Code ..................................................................................... 11 Figure 7: Augmented Reality in Royal Ontario Museum ........................................................ 12 Figure 8: Augmented Reality Experience on Phillip Island .................................................... 13 Figure 9: Virtual Reality Experience at The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia