Interactive digital kiosks are standard in many business settings like shopping malls and healthcare, and museums can benefit from them too. Their growing popularity is because of their utility and versatility. Markedly, statistics show that the global market for interactive kiosks had a value of $14.76 billion in 2018 and may reach about $32.5 billion in 2027. In the current state of the world, interactive digital kiosks are more crucial than ever. Businesses or organizations can continue their operations while minimizing human contact.

Besides, interactive digital kiosks increase customer and visitor engagement while allowing them to be autonomous. With these factors in mind, how can museums use interactive digital kiosks to improve the customer experience? This post will delve into the details.

Interactive Digital Kiosks vs. Digital Signage

Before looking at the benefits of digital kiosks, it’s essential to understand how they differ from digital signage displays. Unlike wall-mounted digital signage that is highly customized to its environment, kiosks provide a more immersive environment for the user. Moreover, digital signage has more limited interactive features, and a playlist generally predicts the content.

On the contrary, the touchscreen functionality of an interactive kiosk allows for physical transactions. Also, it can handle open-ended queries. For example, while a visitor in a museum could view a video of the museum’s layout on digital signage for wayfinding, they could use a QSR kiosk for bill payment. Generally, floor-standing interactive kiosks could be more expensive to install and require more infrastructure. However, they tend to provide users with a more personalized, all-in-one user experience than static digital signage solutions.

How Interactive Digital Kiosks Enhance the Museum Environment

According to the American Alliance of Museums, the facilities record an estimated 850 million visits yearly. As museums adopt digital technology solutions, the numbers will increase. Failure to incorporate modern technology poses the risk of losing those visitors.

Therefore, interactive digital kiosks for museums are an excellent way to add life to exhibitions in real time. Besides, they engage visitors more meaningfully, enabling them to connect deeper with the museum artifacts and exhibits. They can also improve wayfinding around the facilities. When this happens, here are some benefits museums can realize:

1.  Easing Check-in and Registration

Museums can leverage interactive digital kiosks to improve the visitor experience right from the entrance. For example, instead of having employees register the visitors for events and activities, visitors can use a self-serve option to look up the available options and book their tickets with ease.

Even in times of staff shortages, museums can still handle visitors at full capacity through proper queue management at check-in. With digital visitor management kiosks, museums can quickly modernize their environments. At the same time, self-service kiosks offer a quick way to identify visitors correctly for easy check-in and check-out.

2. Creating an Information Journey

The main goal of touching a touchscreen kiosk near an exhibit is to provide in-depth information. Information kiosks in a museum can take visitors on a journey as they learn. They’ll have a more engaging experience than reading a text written on a static sign or digital screen.

Besides, indoor and outdoor kiosks that can provide translations in various languages are invaluable. They serve visitors from diverse backgrounds, adding unprecedented value to educational trips. Visitors can download high-quality information to their android or mobile devices with a QR code facility. Consequently, doing so reduces the need for paper printouts and guidebooks, thus saving the environment. Museums can also enhance their content management strategy in various aspects.

3.  Improving Attendance Figures

Enhancing the visitor experience in museums can dramatically improve attendance figures. Managers at museums can collect valuable marketing data through interactive kiosks. For example, they can collect notifications like:

• The time people take to view an exhibit
• Where they check in afterward
• The accurate number of visitors to assist with security matters
• Whether visitors are taking advantage of gift shops, cafes, and other amenities near the facility 

Such data can be valuable in designing future kiosk displays on various subjects while incorporating innovative, imaginative layouts.

4.  Boosting Communication and Understanding

Every artifact and item in a museum tells a story in its unique way. These stories usually carry much more information than digital displays can feasibly show. As such, museums should ensure they improve their messaging and communicate critical information in a way visitors can understand, engage, and digest.

Reading blocks of text at an exhibition can wear our visitors. They may also lose interest if there’s nothing more than text on panels or labels. So, mixing it up with interactive digital signage is an excellent way to uphold interest and convey more information to tell the complete story.

Additionally, museums can use interactive touchscreens to provide games. With some creativity, the facilities can create interactive experiences that enrich the visitors’ experiences and understanding of the artwork and historical artifacts. As an illustration, visitors can put together puzzles in which they recreate famous artworks for a challenge, take virtual museum tours, or solve puzzles created from the exhibits they see.

5.  Remaining Relevant in a Digital-Led World

A common stereotype about museum displays is that they are stuffy and boring, a factor that has stayed the same for decades. However, museums are exciting places that host various fascinating objects and exhibit. They can take this aspect further by embracing digital technology solutions like interactive digital kiosks.

Embracing technology is an excellent way to increase engagement in children and younger visitors who have grown up in a digital world. On the other hand, touch kiosks are non-threatening and easy to use for less tech-savvy visitors.

6. Interactive Digital Kiosks Provide Tamper-Proof Technology

In choosing an interactive digital kiosk solution, museums should consider one with a wide range of facilities and functions. That way, the staff can present the best possible formats to allow visitors to express their appreciation of the exhibitions. More importantly, choosing a solution that offers the added benefit of a tamper-proof lockdown mode is crucial.

With this feature, they can prevent museum visitors from accessing confidential or prohibited information or security measures. Nonetheless, museums should adequately streamline the touch screen automation units to handle the high number of visitors who use the screens daily.

With reliable and user-friendly operating systems, museums can present complex material in a simple yet imaginative manner that visitors can interact with and enjoy. Easy-to-use functions that provide detailed searches to museum exhibits can ease operations without the fear that visitors will tamper with them or cause havoc.

Implementing Interactive Digital Kiosks for Museums

Interactive digital kiosks have become increasingly popular in the past few years. They provide convenience in accessing information, thanks to their ease of use. Interestingly, these inventions can be found across various industries and significantly benefit users. It’s no wonder that museums have also embraced this technology.

Interactive digital kiosks for museums provide multiple benefits the facilities should take advantage of. The technology goes a long way in enhancing visitor attendance, experience, and engagement. These kiosks are adaptable and integration-friendly, allowing more efficient service delivery. If your museum facility has yet to incorporate touchscreen technology, it misses out on many benefits. Consider getting started with it to operate optimally and boost revenue.