Museum Visitor Way-finding Information Transmission Evaluation Using Fixed Location Kiosks at the Museum of Prehistory as an Example

This study uses the Taiwan National Museum of Prehistory as an example, through the guide platform with 3D perspective diagrams, to evaluate whether such tools can deepen understanding for the movement paths for viewing at the museum. The wayfinding behavior explored in this study conducted through a performance experiment of 3D perspective diagrams wayfinding tasks via the public kiosks, with the goal of wayfinding in the real space of the environment. This study used the observation method on 12 first-time visitors, who use museum kiosks to find their destination in a wayfinding experiment. At the end of the experiment, in-depth interviews were conducted to understand problems that arose when subjects used the kiosks and in the wayfinding process. The results were as follows: It is suggested to decrease the amount of information on a single screen on the guide platform. There were two models that most subjects used in wayfinding:

Model 1: Subjects used their memories or indicators to search for the destination. This type of subjects had better sensitivity for direction, and was more correct in identifying orientations.

Model 2: according to the viewing paths and the indicators for path guidance, but they may lose their sense of direction in the long slopes. These viewers would use the referential pictures on the kiosks to recall their impressions to find the destination The enhanced indicator guides in the decision-making points on the floors