This week we went to the American Museum of Natural History. The Natural History Museum is one kind of my favorite museums. It is a place which you can learn bunch of knowledge of this world. There are so many beautiful animals models you have never seen before. The Natural History Museum is always can amaze me, even just stood in the front of the animals, which can make me happy and admire the museum professional’s work. The animal models are so real, like they can be alive anytime. American Museum of Natural History is not only a great place to satisfy the visitor’s curiosity of animals, but also owned brilliant digital educational programs—Micro Ranger and Explore. Those two apps can download on android and iOS system. Those two apps have different content but have the same awesome quality of user experience which would make visitors fascinated by their functions.
Micro Ranger
Micro Ranger is a augment reality educational program launch on April 1, 2014, which is a mobile gaming program about microbial organisms and processes associated with AMNH exhibits. The game will encourage its players to look for things that exist and operate at a microscale while developing an understanding of their ecological role across scale. (Barry Joseph, Moosha Moosha Mooshme, MicroMuseum launched today – a mobile gaming program about microbial organisms)
The Micro Ranger’s interface is simple to operate. However, it may depend on what kind of smart phone the visitors use. Since, several classmates cannot run the app smoothly. The contents are interesting, but in the little game explanation, somewhat hard to understand the meaning, so two of the missions were passed accidentally. Even though, still can find many of fun as a visitor to play the game. From Hannah’s introduction, this program is also co-designed by youth in high school. This does make the program content closer to the youth generation. The app also has a memory function for visitors to continue their game when they come back next time. By playing the Micro Ranger I did gain nice experience with it, which make me would like to have the same kind of app in the Taiwan National Museum of Natural Science.
Explore
Explore is also an app on smartphone, as a digital guide on a smart phone, I would give this app five stars! Like its title—Explore. This app can assist you to explore at the museum. What’s more? It can also let you explore the information about natural history whenever, wherever, whatever you want. The app provides numerous small information which is all very interesting and make me yearn for looking more other animals’ stories. This app is perfect match the concept of distant educational program. By viewing the knowledge on the app, make people think which topic they will explore in AMNH when they to visit the museum next time. Furthermore, the Explorer provides turn-by-turn directions from the edge of the universe in the age of the dinosaurs, plus the shortest route to restrooms, shops, cafes, and exits. ( AMNH, Explorer application on website).
The effect of different variable on museum behavior
By observing other classmates the way of using Micro Ranger. As mentioned above, not every smart phone can run the app well, so most of us are playing as a group. Most of them are enjoying the game, but also got confused when they not really what the action that game exactly wanted them to do cause people laughed loud and shouted “what’s going on now?” However, this kind experience does help people to cooperate together for completing the missions. This is very good to find the goal—from me to we! The disadvantage things are the players may vary from the normal visitors is, the players normally lose focus on the introduction boards and players may skip many exhibits just want to complete the missions in the game instead follow the exhibition moving line. Sometimes may also bother the other visitors’ moving line while players are so engaged in the scene of the game.
From the discussion with Hannah, it’s not hard to image how big is this program and must cost a huge amount to build this app. They use google analyze service to as their data and keep improving the app, this really makes me admire the museum professionals, and those high school student’s efforts. Barry has written on the blog, from those blogs can fully realize how they process this educational program.
A museum’s mission except to preserve knowledge and work for people. People usually think museum sometime plays a role to make people feel relaxed and release the pressure in ordinary life. AMNH does provide comprehensive services for this mission. The two apps both are very interesting and meaningful. The operating advice is a personal smart phone which is easy to get and visitors can keep playing Micro Ranger whenever they come back to the museum. Another feature is visitors can keep the coin! I already planned to go to AMNH on next weekend again!
Reference:
Joseph, Barry. “MicroMuseum Launched Today.” Moosha Moosha Mooshme, AMNH, 1 Apr. 2014, http://www.mooshme.org/2014/04/micromuseum-launched-today-a-mobile-gaming-program-about-microbial-organisms/.
AMNH, “Explore”, http://www.amnh.org/apps/explorer
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