National Museum of History goes digital to attract visitors amid COVID-19

• Vietnam Press Museum opens
• National museum reveals historic moment via online display

According to the National Museum of History, the number of visitors to the museum has now decreased by about 93% compared to the period before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The museum has just suspended in-person visit services. However, in order to adapt to the new context, the museum has built several virtual galleries using digital technology to attract more virtual visitors to its exhibitions.

The National Museum of History has successfully launched two online displays named “BaiCoi relic – rendezvous of cultures” and “Communist Party of Vietnam: Developments between congresses”. The museum is planning to introduce a 3D display themed “National treasures preserved at the National Museum of History.”

Since July 2020, the museum has organized online history classes for students at home and abroad. In the first quarter of 2021, 26 online history classes were held for 450 students.

The museum also promotes the development of a digital museum by actively applying technology. Alongside the employment of audio voiceover systems in Vietnamese, English and Korean as well as the QR code system of exhibits, the museum also updates online display contents to better serve visitor’s demand. 

Most recently, the museum has put into operation iMuseum VFA, a multimedia voiceover application. iMuseum VFA uses different languages to provide virtual visitors with information about the author and story related to an exhibit.

This is a multimedia application including high quality audio, text and photos, helping users visit online or directly at the VFA. The app is on both Android and iOS platforms, using QR codes and iBeacon locating technology.

iMuseum VFA includes features that help users view high-quality images, listen to the introductions, see the locations of exhibits, view the diagrams and see visited rooms.

The application of iMuseum VFA creates favorable conditions for virtual visitors from different countries around the world to easily access works at the museum.