The
Application
of Digital
Technologie
s in
Museums
Kamani Perera
Sri LankaMartin Wickramasinghe Museum of Folk
Culture, Koggala, Sri Lanka
Photograph by Kamani Perera
A dynamic change has occurred in museums in the recent past with the dawn of information communication technologies.
Digital technologies have become an integral part of the museums and future museums have no life without that.
Martin Wickramasinghe Museum of Folk
Culture, Koggala,Sri Lanka
Photograph by Kamani Perera
Museums face new challenge to provide efficient service to the wider community while enhancing the human interaction with the new technologies.
Digital technologies is widely recognized to be helpful in fulfilling its function in novel and effective ways.
Istanbul, Turkey
Photograph by Kamani Perera
Museums which do
not avail of some of
the technologies that
are such a great part
of our everyday life
would be as
anachronistic as
thinking of a museum
without electricity or
heating (Geser &
Niccolucci, 2012).Martin Wickramasinghe Museum of Folk
Culture, Koggala, Sri Lanka
Photograph by Kamani Perera
Technology has
given a boost to the
future museums by
way of providing
golden age of
opportunities to
limitless access of
artifacts enhancing
learning and
teaching skills
beyond museum
walls. Natural History Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
(Photograph taken by Kamani Perera)
Digital technology also facilitates to upload individual stories to museum collections and to interact via social media tools.
It bridges the information gap, enhances all forms of literacy, facilitates to access hidden documents on demand.
Natural History Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
(Photograph taken by Kamani Perera)
Museum is an
inviting place for
effective learning.
It connects human
experience, culture,
history, science and
art via its objects.
Bibliothek Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
(Photograph taken by Kamani Perera)
There are museums which provide access to documentary videos about their artifacts, stories with interactive sessions.
People can share information, learn more; make decisions quickly as a result of the application digital
Bibliothek Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
(Photograph taken by Kamani Perera)
Physical museums
offers visitors to gain
experience on real
objects and sharing
their knowledge among
families and friends
while digital museums
provide limitless
access to museum
objects to enhance
lifelong learning.
Bibliothek Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
(Photographs taken by Kamani Perera)
Once the visitor makes a virtual visit in museum website s/he may takes keen interest to see the original artifacts in naked eye.
In the same manner museum professionals should think about whether old events would hold same importance in future too.
Water Museum, Lisbon, Portugal
Photograph by Kamani Perera
As there is a diversity of audiences museums should consider the relevance of social and cultural events they address to the public.
New technologies such as 3D printing immensely help to produce accurate picture of rare, damage or
Brukanthal National Museum, Sibiu, Romania
Photograph by Kamani Perera
In other words, digital
technologies help to
reproduce museum
artifacts in an
accurate manner
without much effort.
In the past,
museums have
considered as a
place for
preservation and
display of artifacts,
which take us to our
Martin Wickramasinghe Museum of Folk
Culture, Koggala, Sri Lanka
Photograph by Kamani Perera
Digital technologies support audiences to buildup novel connection among themselves and others and past, present, future.
This leads to the creation of exhibitions and dialogue between audiences and museums as well as museum exhibits.
Martin Wickramasinghe Museum of Folk Culture,
Koggala, Sri Lanka
Photograph by Kamani Perera
Digitization can
allow museums to
preserve their rare
and fragile material
and facilitates to
access those
materials virtually.
Not only that, lesser
known museums
can raise awareness
of their collections in
a way never before
possible.
Archaeological Heritage Site, Mhadaba, Jordan
Photograph by Kamani Perera
More prominent
museums can
benefit from
digitization by
providing virtual
access to the
objects in their
collection.
Schlesisches Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
Photograph by Kamani Perera
New technologies
have dramatically
changed the
traditional concept
of museums by
facilitating to
interact with the
community beyond
their physical
walls.
Natural History Museum, Gorlitz, Germany
(Photograph taken by Kamani Perera)
Digital technologies facilitate to reveal the hidden stories of the museum artifacts.
Digital technology supports museums for not only to preserve the accessed data but for re-use, re-create and to boost the economy.
Vasco Da Gama’s Coffin, Lisbon, Portugal
Photograph taken by Kamani Perera
Museums stimulate
people’s hearts and
they feel more and
more closer to the
museum
environment.
Once they visited
virtually, they really
feel to visit the
location physically.Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Portugal
Photograph taken by Kamani Perera
People can access museum collection via social media tools and at the same time they can share their stories.
That helps to bridge the gap between information rich and information poor by reaching the unreached.
The World Archaeological Congress, 2013
Dead Sea, Jordan
Photograph by Kamani Perera
Thank YouMartin Wickramasinghe Museum of Folk Culture, Koggala,Sri Lanka
Photograph taken by Kamani Perera
Now we are living in digital era
and consuming its fruits for our
day-to-day needs.
Yes, of course, in future
digital technologies are
mandatory to run a museum.