Ho Chi Minh City: Museums apply digital technologies to attract visitors

Visitors are excited with interactive touchscreen. Museums apply digital technologies to attract visitors (Photo: SGGP)

Going to the Southern Women Museum with her colleagues on October 20, 24-year-old Thu Trinh in Go Vap District was so excited because she could touch and experience with kiosks in the exhibition section in the museum which are connected with interactive touchscreen so that visitors can search for information of exhibits.

One of the worst things about museums is that you often only get to experience those items from behind a shield of glass, with a tiny placard to the side. She revealed her mild short-sighted eyes cause distant objects in glass booths to appear blurred. However, she felts comfortable with the museum’s kiosks’ interactive touchscreen.

After experiencing the touchscreen in the kiosks, Ngo Thi Thu An, 40 years old woman in District 6, shared the interactive touchscreen facilitated visitors as it displays genuine image of the exhibits even small cracks.

Student Dang Minh Chau from University of Social Sciences and Humanities’ Faculty of Society showed her interest while searching for information of the exhibit through using code. Minh Chau said she and her classmates are looking for materials for research; Information in the museum is useful because she searched in internet and shared with her friends. Scanning code not only helps reduce pressure on museum guide but also helps visitors access to information by themselves.

33 – year-old Nguyen Khanh Hieu in District 3 said he often goes to museums alone; therefore, scanning code to look up information is so convenient for single visitor like him.

The museum tells stories of exhibits and historic stories through digital technologies especially Holograms combined with virtual reality which can provide a richer, more detailed experience and enhance the experience of interacting with museum exhibit.

In the launch time, Hologram combines information and image of around 115 typical exhibits of the museum.

Mentioning the technology adoption in the museum, Deputy Director Nguyen Thi Hien Linh said viewpoints of museum in the modern era has changed. Museums is not only a place to display what it has but what visitors want to see. Digital technology allows a dramatic increase in access to information, cultural education and interaction especially modern technologies which young visitors, who develop innovative ways of interacting using technology and want to access as much or as little information as desired, pick and choose their way through an exhibition and create a storyline.

According to Ms. Linh, museums is not merely a place to display exhibits or stories of the past but it must combine between the past and today trends to attract visitors; therefore, applications of audio visual technology in museums is one of solution to draw more visitors.

By Kim Loan - Translated by Dan Thuy