Between curiosity and clunkiness: why virtual museums still fall short

Singh, S ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7531-6145, Bibb, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3975-389X and Holmquist, LE ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0229-2345, 2026. Between curiosity and clunkiness: why virtual museums still fall short. In: Oliver, N, Shamma, DA, Candello, H, Cesar, P, Lopes, P, Artizzu, V, Draxler, F, López, G, Reinschluessel, AV, Tong, X and Toups Dugas, PO, eds., CHI EA '26: Proceedings of the extended Aabstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. ISBN 9798400722813

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Abstract

Virtual Museums have long promised accessible ways to experience culture online, yet many still struggle to engage visitors. Building on prior research that highlights issues of usability and interactivity, this study revisits the virtual museum experience through a comparative, user-centred lens which involved semi-structured interviews with twelve participants looking at 6 platforms; all ranging from virtual catalogue-based archives to immersive “Street View” environments. Thematic analysis identified 3 recurring factors shaping user experience: 1) Perceived quality and UX features strongly influenced the experience; 2) Users do not have strong preferences but have strong expectations when viewing different systems; and 3) Virtual Museums have the potential to complement physical museum visits. The findings further show how expectations now extend beyond issues of access to encompass design sophistication and sensory coherence. We discuss implications for rethinking virtual museums as intentionally designed experiences that complement rather than just replicate physical visits.

Item Type:	Chapter in book
Description:	Extended abstract Article 117
Creators:	Singh, S., Bibb, R. and Holmquist, L.E.
Publisher:	Association for Computing Machinery
Place of Publication:	New York
Date:	13 April 2026
ISBN:	9798400722813
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1145/3772363.3798315 DOI 2681197 Other
Rights:	©2026 Copyright held by the owner/author(s). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > Nottingham School of Art & Design
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	29 Apr 2026 10:56
Last Modified:	29 Apr 2026 10:56
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/55623

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