Designing an MR-Based Educational System for Open-Storage Art Museums: A Case Study of MMCA Cheongju

Abstract

Open storage museums offer a distinctive mode of exhibition by publicly displaying collections within storage environments. However, high-density displays without sufficient interpretive support often confine visitors to passive observation, giving rise to what has been described as the “open storage dilemma.” To address this limitation, this study proposes a mixed reality (MR)–based educational system developed for Apple Vision Pro. The system was designed based on the storage environment of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Cheongju and provides a seated experience in which users interact through system-level spatial interaction and hand-based gestures. By integrating recorded on-site footage, MR-based artwork appreciation, interactive 3D virtual spaces, and AI-generated skybox visualizations, the system enables stepwise exploration of otherwise physically inaccessible storage contexts. A field-based user study with 46 visitors revealed high evaluations across interest, understanding, immersion, usability, and satisfaction (5-point scale, M = 4.56–4.67). Significant positive correlations were found among understanding, immersion, and satisfaction, and these patterns remained consistent regardless of prior XR experience or previous museum visits. These findings indicate that MR-mediated spatial experience can visualize the invisible operational systems of storage-type museums and reconfigure observation-centered spaces into immersive, understanding-oriented educational environments.