As a pioneer in integrating media history and education, the China Media Museum, adopted virtual reality technology to provide virtual tours during the COVID-19. However, since 2020, there have been less than 8 thousand virtual visitors and the shortcomings in its practical application have emerged. Pan Li, the director of the China Media Museum, acknowledged these shortcomings and attempted to introduce Metaverse technology.
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As the first national level comprehensive media museum integrating media cultural relics collection, physical display, historical studies, cultural and creative education, and experiential service, the China Media Museum fills two major gaps in the category of Chinese museums and the media industry.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented students from returning to school and visiting media museums offline. To better utilize the cultural relic resources of the museums, the China Media Museum has adopted Virtual Reality Technology. Students, staff and other visitors can visit every hall and artifact in the museum through Virtual Reality tours.
Ma Yitong, a docent at the China Media Museum, said that the Virtual Reality tour delivers a digital journey, breaking the restriction of time and space for visiting exhibitions. This gives visitors an immersive experience. "Due to the epidemic, the entire training process for docents like us is online, so the Virtual Reality system is a great help to our practice," said Ma.
However, since its operation in 2020, the total number of visitors to the virtual Media Museum has been less than 8000, which exposes many drawbacks of Virtual Reality technology in its practical application.
"We cannot experience exhibits like we do in real museums, nor can we communicate and share our ideas about exhibitions with friends. If I could visit offline, of course I wouldn't choose to visit online." said freshman Liu Jiayi.
According to visitors, Virtual Reality system is difficult to control because a single finger swipe may cause the interface to rotate too much, requiring interactive conversations that result in low visitor engagement and a reduced overall experience. In addition, according to visitors, the display of exhibits also lacks innovation, and museum director Pan Li admits that this is a limitation.
"In terms of new media, Virtual Reality technology is already a relatively outdated technology compared to a few years ago, and we will not return to this field for development. Some larger museums now use the most advanced media technology, such as Metaverse technology," said Xue Wenwei, Director of the Collection Department of Media Museums.
Media museums still hopes to explore new ways through new media technologies. As one of the most popular technological concepts, Metaverse provides new solutions to this dilemma. It integrates Virtual Reality, AR, AI, cloud storage, blockchain and other Internet technologies, creating new possibilities for cultural relics archiving and museum construction.
In Xue's scenario, the combination of the Metaverse and the museums is like turning an exhibition into a game, where avatars replace real visitors. As long as users have a mobile device, they can overcome the barriers of time and space to visit the exhibitions with friends, and meet their real-time communication and interaction needs.
The Media Museum is attempting to implement this idea. In July, the "Qi Yue Centenary Birthday Exhibition" was held, using Metaverse technology. Visitors can manipulate their avatars to pass through the exhibition hall and interact with others through voice and video. This popular exhibition that combines online and offline has verified the feasibility of the "Metaverse + Museum” model.
However, the high cost of maintaining the project makes its future uncertain. Xue said, "There is not enough funds to further develop these plans." "Moreover, our previous achievements were also based on commercial companies's templates, rather than our original technology."
In the process of exploring digital technology in museums, whether Metaverse technology can slove the limitations of Virtual Reality still needs to be tested in practical applications.
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