Mixed reality for museum experiences: a co-creative tactile-immersive virtual coloring serious game

In this paper, we present the development and outcomes of a pilot Mixed Reality (MR) co-creative serious game about the virtual coloring of a small Victorian wallaby-sized plant-eating polar dinosaur Leaellynasaura amicagraphica (Little L). The experience enables museum visitors to learn about local dinosaur heritage as well as about science and its methodologies, i.e., how paleontologists determine the color of dinosaurs. While immersed into Little L's Virtual Reality (VR) environment or viewing it on a large screen, users can pat a 3D printed reconstruction of the dinosaur. This case study assists us to explore how multimodal tactile-immersive MR museum experiences can interpret heritage that is hard to access and subject to misconceptions (e.g., all dinosaurs are large) through authentic and scientifically proven content. We also investigate how to develop meaningful, engaging interactions for improving access to heritage content through learning-by-doing and users' creative explorations. This experience is a part of an experimental museum exhibition The Little L Project, developed by an interdisciplinary team of museum professionals, engineers, paleontologists and designers in collaboration with the local government and its community, in the context of the newly appointed UNESCO City of Design-City of Greater Geelong.