Applying Gamification to Raise Awareness of Cultural Heritage in Egyptian Museums (Case Study: Alexandria National Museum)

Gamification can be defined as the "use of game design elements in non-game contexts" (Deterding et al, 2011). Gamification is used to increase the motivation and engagement of users. It can be used in attracting and engaging tourists in all tourist activities, facilities and attractions. This study is concerned with using gamification in museums. This is due to the fact, that one of the main problems that face museums is that the displays are passive and non-engaging. During the last decade there have been several attempts to develop the concept of museums as being a static transmitter of history and cultural heritage into a dynamic, educational and entertaining institution.
The aim of the study is to investigate the possibilities to incorporate gamification approaches in Egyptian museums to raise awareness of cultural heritage. This has been achieved by using a quantitative research method. An online survey was designed and distributed among a purposive sample of young people to examine the effectiveness of gamification to raise awareness of cultural heritage in museums and enhance user’s experience. The research hypotheses were tested using regression analysis, where the integration of gamified applications in museums was the independent variable while user engagement, education of cultural heritage and enhanced user experience were the dependent variables. In addition, a  gamified application of a scavenger hunt in the Alexandria National Museum (ANM) was suggested in order to enhance user’s experience and promote knowledge gain of visitors.
The results show that gamification is an effective tool to increase awareness of cultural heritage in museums. It also became clear, that gamification can be also used to provide the intended educational experience that has to be conveyed by museums combined with entertainment using emerging technologies to reach young people.