Pong to Pokemon: Evaluating the Visitor Experience of a Museum Exhibit

Pong to Pokemon: The Evolution of Electronic Gaming was the Bullock Texas State History Museum's first foray into immersive experiences in several years. For my Master's capstone project in the fall of 2017, I was tasked by the Director of Education and the Digital Media Team with evaluating several aspects of the exhibit and whether they were achieving their engagement and learning objectives. My observations and interviews yielded key insights about the space and the ways visitors interact within it will be instrumental to future exhibit design at the Bullock. My findings concerning particular aspects of the exhibit, such as the arcade soundscape, will encourage the curatorial and exhibit design staff that not only can they experiment with immersive experiences in the future, but that these can be successful and effective aspects of the exhibit.