Abstract

Due to emerging and disruptive technologies, museums are searching for ways to enhance their visitors’ experience. This paper investigates aspects of an Augmented Reality (AR) art exhibition for their potential effects on a visitor’s museum experience and engagement. Through a mixed experimental design we tested the effects of two factors, namely the exhibit label’s Channel (print vs. digital) and the presence of Gamification (none vs. quiz game). Forty seven participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups, each with two treatments: (1) Print No Gamification and With Gamification (n = 24), (2) Digital No Gamification and With Gamification (n = 23). Results revealed that displaying exhibit labels for AR artworks in digital rather than print form resulted in a significantly higher level of Cognitive Absorption among participants. This, in turn, had a positive impact on visitors’ aesthetics, education, entertainment and escapism (4Es), and ultimately both engagement and behavioural intentions.

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