Two empirical studies were conducted. In the first study (March to June, 2007) the laboratory exhibition "Nanodialogue" was used which was exhibited in the foyer of our institute. An electronic guidebook was developed which could provide additional information. Part of the study participants were offered additional information, part were not. Additionally a part of the participants had the opportunity to bookmark interesting exhibits for later examination on a webpage after the visit.
A second study was conducted in March and April 2008 with higher ecological validity at the Deutsches Museum Bonn with regular visitors. Visitors were either given an electronic guidebook that made the information of the museum immediately available and allowed bookmarking of interesting exhibits or they visited the museum unassisted. It was examined, which exhibits were interesting for a visitor and which influence a combination of immediate availability of information and bookmarking had on visitor behavior. A second electronic guidebook was developed for this study.
Study 2 shows that interactive exhibits are more often named as most interesting exhibits in science and technology museums. Four factors were identified: Attraction Power, immediate enjoyment, familiarity, and information value of the exhibit.
The provision of additional information in study 1 led to a doubling of the visit duration, higher engagement with the exhibit topic after the visit, and a more favorable assessment of the exhibition. There were no influences on interest. The immediate availability of information in study 2 led to an increase in visit duration. Post visit engagement was rare in study 1. In study 2 only 1/5th to 1/4th of the visitors accessed the website. However, users of the electronic guidebook spoke more often with their fellow visitors about the museum visit than visitors without the device or non-users of the device.