A thought crossed my
mind following the round table discussion on the topic of ‘orientation and
wayfinding’ at the Museum of Royal Antiques in Hue.
With the citadel, royal tombs, imperial enclosure and the antiquities
museum all in a large vicinity, visitors are spoiled with choice at this UNESCO
heritage site. Though Lonely Planet, local hotels, tour companies and word of
mouth may provide a good picture of how extensive the Hue complex is, a possible
idea to enhance mobility around this cultural complex is to ‘bundle’ the
experiences available to visitors in the precinct. For example, a visual
illustration outlining visitation options (tombs + museum or citadel + museum) and
time frames could assist visitors as they make the most of their experience. A
wayfinding map catering to themes or time frames to the visit could be available
at each entrance of the main sites for consistency.
The
‘bundling’ could be like the ones Graeme noted in his discussion on the topic of
‘informal learning in museums’ where trails are created. This could allow
visitors free choice to how they would like to spend their time on site.
Using
this technique to market curriculum subjects in my current role proved to be a
success last year. With declining enrollments in the Humanities and languages,
myself and other department heads in the faculty ‘bundled’ our subjects to
showcase relevance in tertiary study and future job prospects. For example, we
bundled “Modern History + Chinese” or “Ancient History + Economics” to market
the faculty subjects to students and parents. The success was an increase in enrolments
in History and Chinese. By ‘bundling’ these links, the department heads and I
could show the interconnected nature of curriculum content and relevance to
their future study prospects.
Overall,
a visitor to Hue Citadel may feel more in control roaming the vast cultural
space and gain a sense of accomplishment at the end of the visit. Therefore, a
positive museum experience and word of mouth feedback that could encourage
future visitors.
That’s
my two cents worth! Thanks for reading J
Thanks Greg I completely agree with you! I felt as though we were exploring the site for hours and still didn't see everything. You couldn't possibly explore every opportunity in a site as large as the Citadel (especially in that heat!) So bundling experiences together would be extremely appealing. Everyone loves a good sense of accomplishment.
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