Lessons learned from an auditory-vibrotactile sensory experience in the museum

Abstract

The present paper describes research results and lessons learned from a multisensory exhibit held in Gwacheon National Science Museum. We introduced an all-in-one multisensory device that can produce visual, auditory, and vibrotactile stimuli to create a novel sensory experience. Three sensory conditions were considered, and the ways sensory feedback differed under the different conditions were examined. In total, 113 people visited our exhibition. From among these visitors, we carried out self-report questionnaires, interviews, and EDA activities measurement with 60 participants. The results showed that the vibrotactile and auditory stimuli conditions were pleasing and present compared to the condition of only auditory stimulus. When applying vibrotactile stimulus, understanding and developing situational vibrotactile stimulus in response to the auditory sensory stimulus might be effective compared to deploying ambient vibrotactile sensory stimulus. Additional experiments and data analysis are needed. However, we hope that this case study will inspire researchers and curators who are willing to introduce the multisensory experience into the actual museum setting.