As museums increasingly turn towards technology as a means of future-proofing, we take a deep dive into the visitor experience benefits of museum kiosks.
In recent years museums, once a primary source of information, have struggled to keep pace with the ever increasing levels of information and interactive qualities to be found on the internet. Consequently, their numbers have dwindled to include mainly middle-aged visitors while the younger generation, who have grown up with the exciting action-packed choices of online information, find more modern ways to learn..
Yet you only have to remember the unprecedented levels of interest across the United Kingdom and America that was created by the wonderful treasures of the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire Hoard to realise that museums can still draw the crowds. But to be economically viable, museums need to maintain a sizeable flow of visitors on a regular basis. Realising that interesting, innovative exhibitions on their own are not quite enough to satisfy today’s audiences, some museums have begun to make great progress in capturing people’s attention once more by combining antiquity with technology and discovering the benefits of a museum kiosk.
In today’s society the internet is inescapable. Valuable data and resources are catalogued online, communications are virtually instant and fortunately, even the most reluctant are becoming computer literate as being online is now part of everyone’s daily life.
Interactive technology in the form of self-service kiosks, for instance, has been introduced to a great number of venues. You find them in doctors’ waiting rooms, hospital reception areas, hotel lobbies and even the library for borrowing and returning books. Forward-thinking museums have realised the value of installing touch screen mobile kiosks which allow the provision of information and booking schedules, details of forthcoming exhibitions and issuing tickets, but how do they benefit visitors?
1. Creating an information journey
The main goal of placing a touch screen kiosk by an exhibit is to inform. Interactive kiosks make the learning experience so much more interactive and engaging than a paragraph of text written on a static sign.
Interactive museum kiosks really can take you on a journey as you learn. For example, if you were a visitor at a museum with a fine display of portraits of Henry VIII (1491-1547) you could through a kiosk, learn about Henry VIII’s life and connecting facts about the artists, Hans Holbein (1497-1543) for instance, then follow links to other people of the era such as Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540) and Anne Boleyn (1501-1536), and find the directions to the rooms where the relevant paintings are displayed. Such information would encourage you to explore more of the museum.
Kiosks with the capability of providing translations in a variety of languages are invaluable. Museum kiosks are adding unprecedented value to educational trips providing interactive facilities that link with the museum or other students. Through the use of a QR code facility, visitors are allowed to download information to their smart phones, reducing the need to provide large numbers of paper and print guide books which is of benefit to the environment. Maps and directions to all areas of the museum can be displayed and can include details of future exhibitions. Thanks to the touch screen kiosk, the experience of visiting a museum is quickly becoming a vibrant, exciting event.
2. Improved attendance figures
From the museum’s point of view, providing enhanced experiences for their visitors can drastically improve attendance figures. If you were a manager at a museum, you would be able to collect valuable market research data through the kiosks such as how long people take to view a particular exhibit and the direction they might go in afterwards. Information of this sort can be of enormous benefit when designing future displays on subjects such as Iron Age Cooking Pots with innovative, imaginative layouts.
Accurate numbers of visitors can also be recorded which assists with security issues within the museum. Kiosks can also include useful directories that advertise local businesses such as cafes, restaurants and other tourist attractions, possibly adding a layer of revenue for the museum. Providing multiple kiosks requires regular, perhaps even daily updating of material, ensuring that essential information is valid for visitors, a function which is much easier than it sounds if a suitable Mobile Device Management (MDM) software package is utilised. The museum can present its own particular set of functions and operating modes for visitors to enjoy. However, the major challenge in the use of touch screen kiosks is to ensure that they are tamper proof.
3. Tamper-proof technology
Mobile Device Management (MDM) software usually has a wide range of facilities and functions that enable museum staff to present the best possible formats to enhance their visitor’s appreciation of the exhibitions. Some will have the additional benefit of a tamper proof lock down mode that prevents visitors accessing prohibited information or security measures. Self-service touch screen automation units need to be particularly streamlined and robust to deal with being used by thousands of visitors every day. It is vital that the operating systems are reliable and user friendly, enabling the museum to present complex material about for example, the Wars Of The Roses, in a simple but imaginative manner. Easy to use functions that offer detailed searches to other exhibits within the museum all need to operate smoothly without the fear of them being tampered with, a situation that potentially could cause havoc.
4. Accessibility
Touch screen automated kiosks can greatly enhance the visitors’ experience of the exhibitions with detailed information and interactive features being presented in an interesting and compelling format that is easy to use. One of the key benefits of a museum kiosk is the information you can collect on how visitors interact with the kiosks. By introducing high quality touch screen kiosks and Mobile Device Management software you can create exciting, vibrant exhibitions enabling your museum to regain its popularity.
At LamasaTech we’re fascinated by new innovations in interactive museum kiosks. If you’re looking to take your museum to the next level of interactivity, Get in touch to arrange a consultation with one of our experts.
