Perspective Chapter: Museums and the Metaverse – Emerging Technologies to Promote Inclusivity and Engagement

Abstract

Over the past two decades, museums have increasingly sought to build connections with the community and increase inclusivity of visitors. At the same time, emerging technologies, such as extended reality (XR) and virtual museums (VM) are increasingly adopted to engage with different generational expectations but also for the purposes of supporting inclusivity and neurodiverse populations. First such technologies were adopted to augment exhibitions in the physical museum space for edutainment. Since then, XR has expanded from room-size environments (CAVEs) and augmented exhibitions to the creation of entire virtual museums, such as The Museum of Pure Form and The Virtual Museum of Sculpture. Digital twins of museums are increasingly common, along with UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Such virtual experiences can be leveraged to prepare neurodiverse visitors prior to visiting a museum. This chapter will outline how existing approaches to social stories and sensory maps may be combined with XR experiences to support neurodiverse visitors and their families. While onsite, immersive technologies can be used both for engagement and to provide accommodations for greater inclusivity and diversity.

Immersive Cross-Cultural Journeys: Enhancing Museum Experiences Through Mixed Reality

“…Existing research underscores the importance of tailoring the MR experience to accommodate diverse cultural narratives. Zhao et al [6] and Wang and Kim [7] emphasized the necessity of inclusivity in MR applications, resonating with our focus on how personalized interactions, such as eye tracking, can deepen the cultural appreciation of visitors.…”

“…Technical issues such as interface design, sensory accuracy, and user accessibility can significantly affect the effectiveness and reach of the MR experience [5]. Furthermore, there is a crucial need to balance technological innovation with culturally and educationally meaningful content to ensure that MR experiences in museums are not only visually immersive but also enriching and informative [6], [7].…”

Disconnected from Reality: Do the core concepts of the metaverse exclude disabled individuals?

“…This could serve to enhance the self-efficacy of their interactions with said metaverse. In the physical world, museums often take such combined storytelling tactics in an effort to increase accessibility, and are turning their attention to the metaverse [21].…”

Digital Interaction with Physical Museum Artifacts

“…These experiences can augment existing museum content and artifacts or provide alternative content [14]. At the same time, a new trend is to provide novel experiences enhanced with storytelling and narratives [15], inviting the visitor to be engaged in the museum metaverse [16].…”