Science Education Enhancement within a Museum using Computer-human Interaction Technology

Abstract

We are developing an immersive learning support system for paleontological environments in museums. The system measures the physical movement of the learner using a Kinect sensor, and provides a sense of immersion in the paleontological environment by adapting the surroundings according to these movements. As the first step toward realizing an immersive learning support system for museums, Yoshida et al. developed and evaluated a prototype system. However, their system cannot learn about certain paleontological features such as the names of extinct animals and their characteristics. Therefore, we developed an improved version of this system that allows for an enriched knowledge of paleontological environments, focusing in particular on extinct animals and plants and the ecological environment. Here, we evaluate the system’s learning assistant and immersive features insofar as they are directed toward children in primary school. This paper summarizes the current system and describes the evaluation results.