Project Sponsor: Old Sturbridge Village
Old Sturbridge Village, the largest open-air museum in the northeast, is set in a period of transformative years in New England. It is a recreation of a typical rural New England town from the 1830s and aims to provide guests with a fully immersive experience from the time period. Unlike traditional museums, Old Sturbridge Village makes use of all five senses to best convey the feeling of living in a long past time period. Visitors are able to engage with costumed historians, touch village artifacts, and experience the everyday life of villagers.
Student Researchers: The Village People
Project Goal:
Work to provide additional in-depth village experiences and engagement with the audience using a fully online format that can be monetized.
Objective Guidelines:
- To create a Virtual Village experience as an addition to the museum and not a replacement for existing exhibits and attractions.
- Recommend content which appeals to a large audience and adds lasting value to the Virtual Village.
- To create a project that has depth, which will help promote visitor retention and improve the OSV’s virtual presence.
Research Objectives:
- Identify OSV’s past and present online content and how it was distributed.
- Learn about current shortcomings of the online presence from visitors and staff of OSV.
- Determine the best method of online content distribution based on OSV’s visitors’ feedback and background research.
- Provide a plan for conducting an evaluation of our recommended online content creation and dissemination strategies.
Final Report:
https://digital.wpi.edu/concern/student_works/hm50tv199?locale=en