“Discuss and Behave Collaboratively!” – Full-Body Interactive Learning Support System Within a Museum to Elicit Collaboration with Children

Abstract

For children, museums are an important place to acquire scientific knowledge through experience and conversation. However, the main learning method in museums is passive: observing exhibits and reading explanations on text panels. Few opportunities exist to discuss the experience and engage in conversation. Therefore, it is difficult for young children to learn sufficiently and efficiently. We developed a collaborative immersive learning support system for a museum that enables children to learn through body movements and conversation. Children can learn by thinking hard when moving with multiple people. We developed content that can be manipulated by the body movements of multiple people. For example, people can cooperate to observe a fossil projected on the screen surrounded by other exhibits and answer quizzes. We expect that this system can help children efficiently gain knowledge of fossils and enhance cooperation. In this paper, we describe the results of an experimental evaluation conducted on a prototype at the Museum of Nature and Human Activities in Hyogo, Japan.