An Applied Study of the Impact of Augmented Reality on Museum Experience: A Focus on Museums in Namibia

Abstract

The study demonstrates Augmented Reality usage for reimaging the museum experience in Namibia. A special focus was on the National Museum of Namibia as a reference point and context to implement the proposed augmented reality solution. The purpose of this proposal is to demonstrate how Augmented Reality can enhance the museum experience by providing complimentary visual information to the exhibits. This is to increase the museum visiting interest, especially among young people. An online survey was done to understand the general public's personal experiences when visiting a museum the traditional way in order to understand what improvements they would like to see in museums for a better experience. 64 participants took part in the study. This survey was a foundation for implementing a software-based solution, focusing on the target users. Our results showed that Augmented Reality enhances the museum experience, knowledge, and learning, as well as an emotional connection of the museum visitor when using the augmented reality mobile application, compared to the traditional museum experience. From an expansion perspective, this study emphasized the need to consider implementing a similar solution on other mobile app platforms, as iOS was used as the benchmark for this study.