Immersive Technology in Museum Exhibits and History Curriculum
Augmented reality
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Immersive Technology in Museum Exhibits and History Curriculum
Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Seattle WA
I evaluated the Japanese American Remembrance Trail at the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience and their current use of technology and developed a proposal analyzing how Augmented Reality can be utilized to amplify the stories of those incarcerated, developing personal and engaging learning experiences that create opportunities to practice empathy.
ROLES
Designer, researcher
The incarceration of 120,000 people of Japanese descent is a chapter of United States history that has long been underrepresented and whitewashed in both formal and informal education. This community is rarely included or highlighted in historical textbooks and curriculum, and being left out of the conversation has resulted in a surface level and impersonal educational experience in classrooms and beyond.
The Wing Luke, among other local organizations, have had to close down and reconfigure many of their programming and events to virtual spaces. In addition to this, the Asian community has seen a disturbing surge in anti-Asian and Pacific Islander attacks and harassment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition to track and respond to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, and discrimination, revealed that between March of 2020 and June of 2021 there were over 9,000 hate incidents reported. If anything, this reinforces the necessity to increase Asian stories and representation in education. Teaching the impacts of racism and xenophobia is imperative in creating a more just and equitable society.
BACKGROUND
My proposal aims to enhance the learning experiences of visitors, by combining storytelling with incorporation of immersive technology that promotes both cognitive and emotional connection for increased engagement. This collaboration in the context of Japanese incarceration history at the museum can provide visitors a new way to engage and connect with the Japanese community, while being immersed in a meaningful learning experience that also engages them with their local history.
GOAL
While the Wing Luke has utilized their digital space to provide online resources, there is not currently an exhibit or expert within their system to design and implement immersive technologies, either within their museum space or beyond.
Being a community-driven and based organization, much work comes from volunteers. While this structure is good for content experts and community involvement, it isn’t explicitly sustainable when it comes to resourcing for technology innovations.
The INS building for example, is a historic building where the Wing Luke is aiming to implement an AR experience for the Japanese American Remembrance Trail project. Although, they don’t have ownership of this building, which is currently on the market to be sold. Depending on the next owner, the museum may not be able to implement their plan.
Process:
Extensive research on the Wing Luke current practices in design and technology use
Interviews with SME in museum design, immersive technology, and Japanese American history
Task design on how to improve the JART experience
Iteration on design as I received SME and user feedback
I conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis to assess the varying elements at play, and used it to guide my design.
DESIGN PROCESS
My proposal is to implement various types of augmented reality to increase visitor engagement, and to provide a new method of storytelling delivery to increase the impact of personal narratives. This proposes a phased approach, scaling the technology over time which will allow for a more cost effective and controlled process. My goal with this proposal is to provide a strategy that is low cost, effective, and user friendly for content experts at the Wing Luke to use and implement, as well as offering appropriate uses and scales of AR in different spaces for different needs.
This proposal is a narrative, evidence-based description of:
The museum educational system
The Wing Luke’s current use of technology
A plan for how specific technologies might improve its functioning
An evaluation of barriers that must be overcome to implement and scale the plan
PRODUCT
3- PHASED APPROACH
Phase I: QR codes and webpage updates
Phase II: Projection Mapping AR
Phase III: Using AR to Recreate Local Physical Spaces
Review the full project here: