Discussion of museum studies and exhibition design techniques that can help VR designers develop educational VR experiences (presentation given at the VR in Education meetup in NYC on February 23, 2017)

1. Bringing Museums Closer
www.immerseum.io
Museums as a Framework
for Educational VR Design
Extending Your Audience
Deepening Your Visitor Experience
Going Beyond Your Floorspace

2. Immerseum’s Mission
To bring museum experiences to homes
and classrooms all over the world; and
Deepen visitor experiences beyond the
limits of the museum’s floorspace.

3. Museums and VR: How Similar?

4. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Comfort
Meet my basic needs.

5. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Comfort
Orientation
Make it easy for me to
find my way around.

6. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
Make me feel welcome.

7. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
I want to have fun.

8. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
I came to spend time with
my family and friends.

9. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
Accept me for who I am
and what I know.

10. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
Help me understand and
let me talk too.

11. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Learning
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
I want to learn something
new.

12. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Choice & Control
Learning
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
Let me choose; give me
some control.

13. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Challenge & Confidence
Choice & Control
Learning
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
Give me a challenge I
know I can handle.

14. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Revitalization
Challenge & Confidence
Choice & Control
Learning
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
Help me leave refreshed,
restored.

15. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Revitalization
Challenge & Confidence
Choice & Control
Learning
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
If your VR experience
meets these
expectations, then you’re
on the right track.

16. What to Consider
Content
Design
Audience
Pedagogical
Approach

17. What to Consider
Content
Design
Audience
Pedagogical
Approach

18. Who Is Your Audience? Audience Motivation
Free
• VR experience is publicly available.
• People use the VR experience because they
want to.
• For Example: Leisure Activity
Captive
• VR experience is targeted for the audience.
• People use the VR experience because they
have to.
• For Example: Management Training

19. Who is Your Audience? Identity-related Motivations
Explorers
Facilitators
Professionals / Hobbyists
Experience Seekers
Rechargers
Respectful Pilgrims
Affinity Seekers
“curiosity-driven” “grab their attention”
“socially motivated” “enabling…their accompanying social group”
“specific content-related objective”
“must-see destination” “having been there and done that”
“contemplative, spiritual, restorative” “refuge” “confirmation”
“duty” “obligation”
“heritage” “Big ‘I’ Identity” “personhood”

20. Who is Your Audience? Audience Behavior Types
“Knows the terrain well.”
• Seeks to supplement or practice
(reinforce) existing knowledge / skills.
“Doesn’t know the terrain, but wants
to learn main landmarks.”
• Seeks to understand “main thrust”
with minimum confusion.
“Familiar with main landmarks, but wants
to discover more.”
• Seeks more breadth and depth with
some modicum of existing knowledge
/ skills.
“Doesn’t know where to go…needs a
light to navigate by.”
• Seeks a satisfying experience – but
can’t predict what it is.
The Expert The Frequent Traveler
The Scout The Orienteer

21. Who is Your Audience? Audience Engagement
(Museums)
• What is there to see?
• Which direction should I
move in?
Orientation
(3 – 10 min)
• 60 – 80% of attention is
focused on content.
• Follow perceived
sequence.
• Systematic and
conscientious.
Intensive Looking
(15 – 40 min) • Initial onset of fatigue
• Typically occurs 20 – 30
min into visit.
• Decreasing diligence /
systematic-ness.
• Items that grab attention
can still hold it.
Cruising
(20 – 45 min)
• Focus is not on
environment, not content.
• “Looking for the bathrooms
/ exit / etc”
Leave-taking
(3 – 10 min)

22. Who is Your Audience? Audience Engagement
(VR)
• What is there to see?
• How do things here work?
• What should I do?
Orientation
(0 – 3 min)
• Attention is focused on content.
• Follow perceived sequence.
• Systematic and conscientious.
Intensive Looking
(5 – 40+ min)
• May or may not apply,
depending on pedagogical
approach and design choices.
• Superficial examination of
different sub-experiences.
• When attention is grabbed,
sub-experience will hold it.
Cruising
(5 – 15 min)
• Focus is not on environment,
not content.
• “Looking for the bathrooms /
exit / etc”
Leave-taking
(<1 min)

23. What is Your Pedagogical Approach?
• Your pedagogical approach is the answer to the question:
“How does your experience impart knowledge to your
visitor?”
• In UX terms:
“What is your interaction model?”

24. How are you balancing Pedagogical Approaches?
• Information flows in one
direction.
• Teacher/Textbook  Student
Model
• Student is “passive” – i.e. they
watch, listen, read, etc. but
don’t “do” anything.
Didactic
• Student self-generates
knowledge from available
inputs.
• Student is their own teacher.
• Really a theoretical ideal, since
it’s practically impossible to
start from “first principles”.
Constructivist
• Active Learning Model
• Typically hands-on, with a
didactic component for
guidance and basic principles.
• Student is “active” – i.e. they
“do” stuff, think about it, and
apply it.
Experiential
• Active Learning Model
• Hands-on and object-based.
• Focuses on the “aha-moment”
by articulating a problem and
encouraging experimentation to
solve it.
Discovery

25. Applying Pedagogical Approaches: Didactic
Museum Examples
• Labels
• Audio Guides
• Guided Tours
• Reference Catalogs
• Interactive Displays
VR Examples
• Labels
• Audio Guides
• Character Guide
• Reference Catalogs
• Guided Tours

26. Applying Pedagogical Approaches: Experiential
Museum Examples
• Diorama / Animatronics
• Manipulatable Objects
• Immersive Environments
• Hands-on Task Displays
• Social Interaction
• Gamification
• Interactive Displays
VR Examples
• Simulated Environments
• Gamification
• Manipulatable Objects
• Social Interaction
• Hands-on Tasks

27. Applying Pedagogical Approaches: Discovery
Museum Examples
• Gamification
• Experimental Structure
• Hands-on Task Displays
• Social Interaction
VR Examples
• Gamification
• Experimental Structure
• Hands-on Tasks
• Social Interaction

28. Other Pedagogical Considerations: Learning Styles
Honey and Mumford:
• Theorists adapt and integrate observations
into complex but logically sound theories.
• Reflectors like to stand back to ponder
experiences and observe them from diff.
perspectives.
• Pragmatists are keen on trying out things in
practice.
• Activists involve themselves fully and without
bias in new experiences.
Bernice McCarthy:
• Analytical Learners learn by thinking &
watching, prefer interpretation that provides
facts, sequential ideas, logical concepts.
• Imaginative Learners learn by feeling and
watching, listening and sharing; prefer
interpretation with social interaction and
personal meaning.
• Common-sense Learners learn by thinking &
doing, prefer to try and test theories for
themselves, problem/solution-oriented.
• Experiential Learners learn by feeling and
doing, enjoy trial & error, prefer hands-on
experience, look for hidden meaning.

29. Bringing It Together: Experience Design
Path
Passive
Content
Environment
Interaction
Scaffolding
(UI)
Lighting Social
Signposting

30. Path
Environment Scaffolding
(UI)
Signposting
Bringing It Together: Experience Design
Passive
Content
Interaction Lighting Social
Choice & ControlWelcome / BelongingComfort Orientation

31. Experience Design: Environment
• The “space” your visitor is in.
• Can be an exterior space.
• Can be an interior room.
• Fundamentally shapes:
• Atmosphere
• Orientation
• First thing people do:
Look around the environment
(orient themselves)

32. Experience Design: Path
• The “experience(s)” the user
can have within the
environment.
• “Exhibit Strategy” in
museum studies.
• THE MOST IMPORTANT
CONCEPT IN EXPERIENCE
DESIGN.
Application
Scene
Experience
Object

33. Experience Design: Path
• FIRST KEY DECISION:
• Single Option?
• Multiple Options?
• SECOND KEY DECISION:
• Realized Path Selection?
• Abstract Path Selection?
• Hybrid Path Selection?

34. Experience
Design: Path
• The Lab
• Realized Path Selection.
• Each experience
corresponds to a physically
modeled Station in the
environment.
• Experience Selection
occurs by approaching a
station and interacting with
the “Teleportation Orb”.

35. Experience
Design: Path
• Oculus Home
• Abstract Path
Selection.
• Experience Selection
occurs within an
abstract UI menu that
is loosely-grounded in
the environment.

36. Experience
Design: Path
• Immerseum
• Hybrid Path Selection
• Each “station” corresponds to a
“category” of experiences.
• Experience Selection occurs
by:
• Activating a station’s “experience
selector”, and using the UI menu of
choices, or;
• Hitting the “pause” button and using
the UI menu of choices.

37. Experience Design: Path
• Realized Path Selection
• Optimizes for immersion.
• Challenge is explaining Interaction
Mechanic.
• Confusion sets in at 8+ options.
• VR user tests suggest
4 – 5 options is optimal.
• Hybrid Path Selection
• Split the difference (best of both worlds?)
• Useful to familiarize Interaction Mechanic and Scaffolding.
• Useful for many choices.
• Abstract Path Selection
• Optimizes for efficiency.
• Optimal for many choices (8+).
• Optimal for complex choices (e.g. search,
filters, complex information).
• May introduce Scaffolding Complexity
(input keyboard, filter selection, etc.)

38. Experience Design: Path
• A complete experience can (and
probably should) feature a
variety of Path Patterns.
• Initial direction of self-directed
travel is culturally-dependent.
• LTR-reading and right-hand driving
cultures turn right.
• RTL-reading and left-hand driving
cultures turn left.
Application
Scene
Experience
Object

39. Experience Design: Path
• Linear Pattern
• Experience is sequential
• All visitors have the same
experience.
• Aligns well with Didactic
Approaches

40. Experience Design: Path
• Themed Pattern
• Experiences are organized into an over-
arching schema, possibly grouped into
themes.
• Visitor chooses sequence of experiences.
• Visitor choice can be constrained by selection
of theme (or starting point).
• Requires greater attention on signposting to
help with Orientation.
• Aligns well with blended Didactic /
Experiential Approaches.
Theme 1
Theme 2
Theme 3
Theme 4
Theme 5
Cat. A Cat. B Cat. C Cat. D

41. Experience Design: Path
• Radial Pattern
• Experiences are organized into concentric
rings.
• Rings correspond to a theme or subject.
• Visitor either starts at center or on the
outside.
• Rings “build on” each other.
• Requires greater attention on signposting to
help with Orientation.
• Aligns well with blended Didactic /
Experiential Approaches.

42. Experience Design: Path
• Star Pattern
• Experiences are grouped around a
main / central “star” experience.
• Useful for:
• content with “main” and
“supplemental” materials, and;
• sequentially layered experiences.
• Aligns well with all pedagogical
approaches.

43. Experience Design: Path
• Areas of Affinity
• Experiences are grouped into
areas of affinity, which may or may
not be physically isolated.
• Sequence within an area is
directed by the visitor, but
sequence of areas can be
controlled.
• Impractical for experiential
approaches.

44. Experience Design: Path
• Fan Pattern
• Useful pattern for initial Path
Selection.
• Very fast / intuitive orientation.
• Aligns well with all pedagogical
approaches.

45. Experience Design: Path
• Map Pattern
• Interactive map is the geographic
“hub” of the environment – points the
visitor to specific experiences.
• Aligns with a Hybrid Path Selection
approach.
• Optimized for non-sequential initial
path selection.
• Aligns well with Experiential /
Discovery approaches.

46. Experience Design: Path
• Path Patterns can and
should be applied at “macro”
and “micro” scales within your
experience.
Application
Scene
Experience
Object

47. Experience Design: Scaffolding (UI)
• Scaffolding is that part of the experience design that is
separate from the environment.
• Video game players are used to Scaffolding as the initial
Path Selection.
• In a physical museum, think the “visitor services desk”
or “elevator” or “map”.
• Useful as a Path Selection option.
• Switch to a different path.
• Restart current path.
• Leave the experience.
• Useful for Configuration of user preferences.

48. Experience Design: Signposting
• Realized visual indications that
help the visitor orient
themselves in the environment.
• Signposts can assist with three
types of Orientation:
• Topographical (“Where am I?”)
• Conceptual (“What am I dealing
with?”)
• Mechanical (“What do I do / How
do I do it?”)

49. Experience Design: Signposting
• Topographical Signposting
is incredibly important.
• May either be:
• Explicit – Clearly gives the
visitor guidance on where to go
or focus.
• Implicit – Subtly guide’s the
visitor’s behavior or focus.

50. Experience Design: Signposting
• Implicit signposting is a
powerful tool that shapes
where the visitor focuses their
attention.
• Not only useful for “large
scale” navigation, but
powerful for small-scale
engagement.
Object Size
Object Isolation

51. Experience Design: Signposting
• Implicit signposting is a
powerful tool that shapes
where the visitor focuses their
attention.
• Not only useful for “large
scale” navigation, but
powerful for small-scale
engagement.
Object Color
Object Position

52. Experience Design: Signposting
• Implicit signposting is a
powerful tool that shapes
where the visitor focuses their
attention.
• Not only useful for “large
scale” navigation, but
powerful for small-scale
engagement.
Object Texture
Object Environment

53. Experience Design: Signposting
• Conceptual Signposting
grows naturally out of content.
• By keeping imagery aligned
with the themes of your
content, conceptual
orientation should take care
of itself.

54. Experience Design: Signposting
• Mechanical Signposting is key to
explaining how to interact with your
experience.
• Two Common Methods:
• Visual indication of “what objects are
interactive”
• Abstract tutorial demonstrating visitor
behavior.
• Mechanical signposting may
feature a combination of audio and
visual cues.

55. Experience Design: Interaction
• Interaction is how the visitor can interact
with your VR experience.
• No real analog in traditional museum
studies.
• How does the visitor “do stuff” using their
controllers?
• Locomotion – Moving Around the
Environment
• Manipulation – Affecting the Environment or
Objects in It
• Consistency is key.
Gaze Keyboard
Gamepad Remote
Wand / Touch

56. Experience Design: Passive Content
• Not everything can be taught Experientially.
• Some information can best be communicated using either:
• Text
• Audio
• Video
• Character
• Passive content is inherently didactic – but that’s not bad.

57. Experience Design: Passive Content (Text)
• Text is a challenge in VR due to display limitations. Techniques
from museum experience can help: Ekarv Method
• Use simple language to express complex ideas.
• Use normal spoken word order.
• One main idea per line, the end of the line coinciding with the end of a
phrase.
• Lines of about 45 letters; text broken into short paragraphs of 4 – 5
lines.
• Use active form of verbs and state the subject early in the sentence.
• Avoid subordinate clauses, complicated constructions, unnecessary
adverbs, and hyphenating words at the end of a line.
• Read texts aloud and note natural pauses.
• Adjust wording and punctuation to reflect the rhythm of speech.
• Discuss texts with colleagues and consider their comments.
• Place draft texts in their final positions to assess effect.
• Continually revise and refine the wording.
• Concentrate the meaning to an “almost poetic level”.
Classic Example:
Ken Dixon commissioned this gold
necklace in 1800 as a present for his wife,
Elspeth. The jeweler Joseph O’Neill
manufactured it.
Thieves stole the necklace from Ken Dixon’s
grandson in 1820. It was later restored
to its owner when the thieves were
caught attempting another robbery.
The robbers were sentenced to death by
hanging. One of the thieves said, “I wish
I had never clapped eyes on that
bauble” as he was led away.

58. Experience Design: Passive Content (Text)
• VR Best Practices:
• Display 1 (one) paragraph at a time –
provide an interaction mechanic for
pagination.
• Place the text in an opaque or semi-opaque
visual container to isolate it from the
environment.
• If the text is part of the environment, then
place text elements in consistent positions
relative to corresponding objects.
• If the text must be abstract (i.e. not part of
the environment), then provide an interaction
mechanic to hide/display the text.
Classic Example:
Ken Dixon commissioned this gold
necklace in 1800 as a present for his wife,
Elspeth. The jeweler Joseph O’Neill
manufactured it.
Thieves stole the necklace from Ken Dixon’s
grandson in 1820. It was later restored
to its owner when the thieves were
caught attempting another robbery.
The robbers were sentenced to death by
hanging. One of the thieves said, “I wish
I had never clapped eyes on that
bauble” as he was led away.

59. Experience Design: Passive Content (Audio)
• Audio content is particularly powerful in VR because it doesn’t
break (and typically enhances) immersion.
• VR Best Practices:
• Use 3D spatialized audio whenever possible.
• Provide an interaction mechanic to control audio playback.
• Provide a scaffolding mechanic to disable audio in general.
• Choose one approach and be consistent:
• Play audio on explicit visitor action (e.g. push play button), or;
• Trigger audio playback when visitor does something (e.g. picks up an object)

60. Experience Design: Passive Content (Video)
• Video content needs to be carefully integrated into the environment
and/or scaffolding of the VR experience.
• Always leave the visitor in control:
• Always provide playback controls.
• Only initiate playback on explicit visitor request via an interaction mechanic.
• Environment
• Model a “screen” in the environment.
• When not playing, screen should display
a frame of the video with an icon
indicating playback support.
• If appropriate, “theater” environments
work well.
• Scaffolding
• Create an abstract (UI) “screen” that
appears when requested.
• Playback can start when the screen
appears.
• Dismissing the screen is not the same as
pausing playback.

61. Experience Design: Passive Content (Character)
• “Character” content is communicated via
a virtual character that is realized within
your virtual environment.
• It combines audio content, with a
simulated persona (human or not) that
moves and interacts with the environment.
• Limited options for playback control.
• Maintains immersion, but user tests show
visitors are more likely to “tune out”.

62. Bringing It Together: Experience Design
Path
Passive
Content
Environment
Interaction
Scaffolding
(UI)
Lighting Social
Signposting

63. The Visitor’s Bill of Rights
Revitalization
Challenge & Confidence
Choice & Control
Learning
Communication
Respect
Socializing
Enjoyment
Welcome / Belonging
Comfort
Orientation
If your VR experience
meets these
expectations, then you’re
on the right track.

64. Further Reading
• The Engaging Museum by Graham Black
• Exhibition Design by Philip Hughes
• The Museum Experience Revisited by John H. Falk &
Lynn D. Dierking
• Learning from Museums by John H. Falk & Lynn D.
Dierking
• The Design of Educational Exhibits by R.S. Miles
• Learning in Museums by George E. Hein
• The Art of Museum Exhibitions by Leslie Bedford
• Exhibit Labels by Beverley Serrell
• Museums and Education by Eilean Hooper-Greenhill
• The Participatory Museum by Nina Simon
• Museum Exhibition Planning & Design by Elizabeth
Bogle
• Art as Experience by John Dewey
• From Knowledge to Narrative: Educators and the
Changing Museum by Lisa C. Roberts
• Engaging Young Children in Museums by Sharon E.
Shaffer
• The Objects of Experience by Elizabeth Wood and
Kiersten F. Latham
• The Educated Mind by Kieran Egan
• The Systems Model of Creativity by Mihaly
Csikszentmihalyi
• Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

65. Thank You!
Contact Information
Chris Modzelewski,
Founder & CEO
Email chris.modzelewski@immerseum.io
Tel. +1 201-506-4554
www.immerseum.io
How else can we help you
today?