This study examines the educational effects of virtual reality (VR) experiences, now a key area of focus for museums, driven by their expanding institutional roles and the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
In the contemporary context, museums ser...
This study examines the educational effects of virtual reality (VR) experiences, now a key area of focus for museums, driven by their expanding institutional roles and the rapidly evolving digital landscape.
In the contemporary context, museums serve multifaceted roles as institutions that provide visitors with diverse experiences, combining opportunities for learning with enjoyment and facilitating meaningful use of leisure time. In order to perform these functions more effectively, many museums have adopted VR experiences, an immersive technology emblematic of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, the integration of VR into museum settings, where original works are accessible and educational objectives are clearly defined, raises complex questions about opposing values, such as learning versus entertainment and the appreciation of original artworks versus engagement with virtual artifacts and representations.
Accordingly, this study poses the following three research questions to guide a systematic examination of the educational effects of museum VR experiences, as informed by participants’ engagement with the programs. The three research questions are as follows: (a) How do participants perceive their learning and entertainment experiences during museum-based VR programs? (b) To what extent do these VR experiences yield effective learning outcomes? and (c) Do VR experiences positively affect participants’ engagement with original works? This study adopts the Generic Learning Outcomes (GLOs) framework, a tool for evaluating museum-based learning. While previous research has frequently employed experience economy metrics, few studies have applied learning-focused assessment tools such as the GLOs. By utilizing this model, the study offers a comprehensive and systematic evaluation of the educational impact of VR experiences in museums.
In order to explore the three research questions posed in this study, two VR programs were selected as case studies: <The World in Celadon> at the National Museum of Korea and <Vivid Na Hye-seok> at the Suwon Museum of Art. A survey was then conducted with 110 participants who engaged with these VR programs. These cases were chosen for their integration of both educational and entertainment components, their use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) that provide immersive, distraction-free experiences, and interactive controllers that enable participants to actively navigate the virtual environment. Furthermore, the exhibition settings allowed participants to view, in person, the artworks or artifacts encountered in VR within the physical museum galleries.
The results indicate that participants perceived the VR experience as an “entertainment experience conducive to learning” (40%), a “learning experience incorporating entertainment” (35.5%), an “entertainment experience” (15.5%), and a “learning experience” (9.1%). These findings suggest that participants did not regard learning and entertainment as separate or mutually exclusive, but rather as integrated components of a unified experience. Given the ongoing challenge museums face in balancing educational value with visitor enjoyment, these responses highlight VR as an effective strategy for responding to this issue, as reflected in participants’ perceptions and experiences.
The results revealed that both VR programs achieved average scores above 4.0—The World in Celadon at 4.06 and Vivid Na Hye-seok at 4.41—indicating a high level of educational effectiveness. Analysis across the various learning domains of GLOs – ‘Knowledge and understanding’, ‘Skills’, ‘Values, attitudes, feelings’, ‘Creativity, inspiration, enjoyment’, ‘Behaviour’ - confirmed that the VR experiences were effective in every category.
These findings contrast with earlier research, which, using the experience economy framework, concluded that VR was not educationally effective, particularly in relation to knowledge acquisition. They also diverge from another previous research that reported improved learning outcomes through VR but no corresponding enhancement in enjoyment.
In this study, the knowledge and understanding domain of the GLOs recorded the lowest average score among all categories. Therefore, surveys and assessment tools focused solely on knowledge and information acquisition are insufficient to capture the full spectrum of learning outcomes associated with VR experiences. A comprehensive evaluation of the educational impact of museum-based VR experiences requires tools that reflect both the distinctive characteristics of VR and the learning environments unique to museums.
A potential contribution of this study is its examination of how VR experiences influence participants’ engagement with original works—an area that has received little scholarly attention to date. The average scores for engagement with original objects (The World in Celadon: 4.55; Vivid Na Hye-seok: 4.66) exceeded the overall average scores for the VR-based GLOs, indicating a positive shift in perception toward the originals following the VR experience. Survey and interview data further revealed that participants observed the original works with greater attentiveness and reported a deeper appreciation of their value.
The findings of this study suggest that participants engaged with VR as a novel mode of learning and enjoyment, which then expanded into more meaningful and effective museum learning experiences. This study investigates how participants perceive VR experiences in museums, thereby affirming the roles and functions of VR programs within these settings. By applying a learning assessment framework specifically tailored to the museum context—one rarely employed in prior research—it offers a comprehensive and empirically grounded analysis of the educational effectiveness of VR, as reflected in participants’ experiences. As one of the few studies to examine the full spectrum of learning outcomes among VR participants, it makes a meaningful contribution to the field. Furthermore, findings from the survey conducted after participants viewed the original artifacts and artworks featured in the VR programs indicate that VR can positively influence their engagement with original works. In addition, the study yields practical implications for the development of future VR programs designed to support more balanced and effective learning experiences in museums.