While audiences like immersive visitor attractions, they particularly like the ones that combine virtual and physical experiences with a strong storyline. The battle experience at Bannockburn works well, for instance, where you play with other people and there’s a member of staff to act as a guide.
When the experience is purely a simulation, audiences like to be able to handle objects at the same time. They can do this at Culloden, for example, where there are certain artefacts at the visitor centre such as 18th-century guns that are available to touch. We found that while people prefer physical objects, even being able to handle virtual objects is better than nothing – the British Museum exhibition allowed visitors to explore objects from different angles, for instance.
Over 55s, which are the core visitor demographic for these kinds of sites, prefer the likes of the reconstructed street and old Glasgow subway at the Riverside to digital simulations. Under 35s are the most comfortable with digital and virtual reality simulations, and also much more likely to want to experience them remotely – something for heritage organisations to think about in future.
Digital simulations are good for getting visitors to stay longer in a small space. This can either maximise the use of space or cause congestion, depending on the popularity of the experience.
We assumed that more visual experiences would need less narrative, but the opposite is actually true. Visitors saw information as important regardless of the mode of delivery.

ZERO is a new introductory gallery and immersive optical device that will locate visitors as they begin their experience in the Museum’s lobby. ZERO welcomes all guests with a sensory experience that provides insight into the urban history of the Bilbao region, and offers a new approach to Frank O. Gehry’s building as well as to the Permanent Collection of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

"Puzzles with a group, in a shared space with other groups, and actors prompting and hinting, so more collaborative/competitive than escape rooms I've been in."

The Columbia University School of the Arts’ Digital Storytelling Lab (aka Columbia DSL) designs stories for the 21st Century. We build on a diverse range of creative and research practices originating in fields from the arts, humanities and technology. But we never lose sight of the power of a good story. Technology, as a creative partner, has always shaped the ways in which stories are found and told. In the 21st Century, for example, the mass democratization of creative tools — code, data and algorithms — have changed the relationship between creator and audience. The Columbia DSL, therefore, is a place of speculation, of creativity, and of collaboration between students and faculty from across the University. New stories are told here in new and unexpected ways.

Throughout the year, Zabludowicz Collection will be presenting Virtual Reality works in a dedicated environment. 360 gives a unique opportunity to see how artists are experimenting with this new technology in increasingly ambitious ways, creating immersive experiences that defy the conventional logic of film and video and evoke visceral sensations.

Opening with Rachel Rossin’s I Came and Went as a Ghost Hand (Cycle 2), 2015, viewers will experience her depiction of personal spaces, studios and bedrooms created from digitally manipulated images. Rossin's multimedia and installation works often question the line between the hyper-real and make-believe creating a unique human experience.