Camera Obscura - Improving Visitor Behavior - Essay Example

?CAMERA OBSCURA al Affiliation) The Camera Obscura in Edinburgh is a building that is located in close proximityto Edinburgh Castle, in the city’s Old Town (Lomer 2008, p.26). It is a tourist attraction that is said to feature a “world of illusions”, and should be of interest to historians of science not only because of its eighteenth century heritage as a labyrinth for scientific devices but also for its radical transformation (by Patrick Geddes) into the “first sociological laboratory in the world” in between the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Stine 2009, p.22). The Short family (who made scientific instruments) built it in the 1770s, and upon its opening it was initially used to display the family’s finest works; these included telescopes among other amazing instruments. This paper will examine the different ways in which the two significant aspects of Edinburgh’s Camera Obscura can be improved. These aspects are (1) the visitors’ experience and (2) the visitors’ behavior. Key Words camera obscura, artistic Introduction The Camera Obscura in Edinburgh is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Scotland. The site is frequented by thousands of tourists every year who are eager to see and learn about this artistic marvel (Cooper 2005, p.37). It is a very important feature of Scotland’s tourism industry, and is loved and adored by so many people. Most people love visiting tourist attractions and sites; they love to explore and to take in the wonderful features on offer in not only their countries but other foreign nations as well. However, few people really appreciate these sites. This could be because a majority of them have little grasp of those attractions and therefore are not aware of how to conduct themselves when touring. It is worth noting that if one does not fully understand the history and nature of a particular tourist attraction, it is very difficult to enjoy a visit to that site. At the same time, it is very easy for one to do things that might be considered wrong or inappropriate. Despite this, they cannot be wholly blamed, and this is why tour guides and operators are so important (Huang 2009, p.19). They help visitors to acclimatize themselves to whichever place they are visiting, and in the process improve their experience and allow them to express themselves without any reservations. The Camera Obscura in Edinburgh is an example of a tourist attraction that can do more in order to give its visitors the best possible experience. How to Improve Visitor Behavior Improving Communication (especially informal communication) Visitors always enjoy visits to museums and tourist attractions when they engage in interactive and hands-on exhibitions. These types of exhibitions are usually accompanied by fun, but they are not always accompanied by scientific, cultural or educational enrichment. Visitors often enjoy museum visits, most visibly to observers, in hands-on and interactive exhibitions (Stine 2009, p.29). Hands-on exhibitions are not necessarily accompanied by educational, cultural or scientific enrichment, although they may be accompanied by having fun. Research carried out over the years has revealed that visitors often miss most of the attitudes and /or ideas that are normally the original objective of museums, exhibition organizers and curators. Museums and tourist sites generally understand and know how to develop the aesthetic, physical and scholarly aspects of spaces. Despite this, the attitudes, learning capabilities, motivations and preconceptions are not well understood. Edinburgh’s Camera Obscura should strive acquire an in-depth knowledge of how visitors learn and behave in leisure-oriented environments. This will allow it to “read” its visitors and as a result develop a very good understanding of their preferences, how they like to view those preferences and how much time they require to view the various attractions within the Camera Obscura (Hall 2009, p.10). It is therefore crucial that any exhibitions and attractions within this amazing work of art are made very visible and prominent so that they are easily recognizable to visitors. In addition to this, the communication skills of the visitors should be analyzed so that a perspective is gained on how different visitors like to communicate and how they prefer to access and view exhibitions. This will enable the Camera Obscura to keep up with changing styles and tools of communication, and therefore give it an advantage when it comes to the self-guided form of learning that is common in tourist sites, attractions and museums. According to Falk (2009, p.40), in order to achieve visitor communication and attention, exhibitions should have discovery and goal-directed activities that generate the necessary attention. In essence, the objective should be to ensure that visitors use and view exhibition content as a blueprint for learning activities. Visitors should also be encouraged to complete tasks, resolve questions and make predictions so as to enable them enhance their ability to communicate and relate to exhibitionists and exhibitions Making Exhibitions/Displays Work The Camera Obscura should do more than just offer systematically organized content. Voluntary and open conditions call for models that provide content (e.g., films, words, objects and interactive materials) and incentives that encourage the exploitation of this content, which are just as important as the exhibition content. Motivational strategies and delivery modes have been found to receive little focus during the planning of exhibitions; the Camera Obscura can improve on this. Curators, directors and staff who are involved in planning exhibitions should gravitate towards a more direct interaction with visitors and the general public (Falk 2009, p.51). Camera Obscura staff who are involved in the designing and planning of exhibitions should pay more attention (early) in the design process to features like wording, lighting, type size and placement. These factors greatly influence the nature of attention that is given to exhibitions, whether it is focused, mindless, random or active. Exhibition planners must give more attention early in the design process to innocent features of displays such as placement, wording, type size, lighting, etc (Hall 2008, p.18). Methodologies like formative examination may allow Camera Obscura staff to create test and pre-test versions of prospective content like interactive, placement and visual formats. The following points should be taken into consideration by Camera Obscura when designing, planning and creating exhibitions: a) Quality of visitors’ attention ranges from casual (passive) to active participation (making comparisons, looking for connections and asking questions). b) Interactive displays and graphics are important in helping visitors come to terms with the larger perspective of exhibition materials. Sensory, action, emotional, social and visual attributes of objects generate much more attention compared to text. This can be achieved by enhancing text and making it more approachable. c) The average time spent by visitors in the Camera Obscura is around 1-2 hours. The more time they view exhibitions, the less likely they will look at it without a compelling explanation to do so. d) Almost all text needs some degree of formative examination and evaluation. In short, effective exhibitions will be more engaging and provide meaningful content when more attention is focused to that content (Hall 2008, p.46). How to Improve Visitor Experience Better Way Finding Techniques Great experiences by visitors are all about a smooth encounter: obstacles to viewing content are limited and the ambience and atmosphere is inviting and welcoming (Bhatia 2006, p.45). For visitors, the inability of to find one’s way in a museum or tourist site is one of the most irritating aspects of touring. It is very frustrating to go to a museum or tourist attraction and then fail to find what one is looking for even after paying all the required fees. The Camera Obscura should study and implement a number of effective way finding techniques in order to boost the satisfaction of the public whenever they visit this wonderful work of imagination. These techniques should be adopted after a thorough evaluation of how visitors navigate their way in and around the Camera Obscura. Two common techniques can be implemented; they are: (1) spatial orientation and (2) linear guidance (directions). These will allow visitors to find their way very easily and also prevent them from getting frustrated and bored with a visit simply because they have taken too long to locate what they were looking for, gotten lost or completely failed to locate their objects of interest. Better Approaches to Cognition The Camera Obscura should adopt a practical approach to cognition. This creates a situation where cognition is embodied and visitors are viewed as active participants in the art of exhibition and display (Lomer 2008, p.34). This approach should be developed proactively and geared towards tapping into the cognitive abilities of visitors. References Bhatia, Arjun Kumar 2006, The business of tourism: concepts and strategies, 3rd Ed, Sterling, New Delhi. Cooper, Chris 2005, An introduction to tourism. In: Tourism Principles and Practice. 3rd ed. Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh. Falk, John H 2009, Identity and the museum visitor experience, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, Calif. Lomer, Kathryn 2008, Camera obscura, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Qld. Hall, C. Michael 2008, Tourism Planning: Policies, Processes and Relationships, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, Harlow. Huang, Sam 2009, Structural analysis of tourist behavior: a study on past mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong, Lap Lambert Academic Pub, New York. Stine, R. L 2009, Visitors, Avon, New York. Read More