Virginia Tech study: New state park multimedia displays well received by visitors
New technology on display at Lake Anna State Park visitor center
New technology on display at Lake Anna State Park visitor center including a 3-D Theater
A recent Virginia Tech study found that new multimedia exhibits at the Lake Anna State Park Visitor Center in Spotsylvania, Va., were viewed very favorably by park visitors. This spring the park visitor center received new interactive, technology-driven education displays to replace static displays developed when the center opened in the 1980s. Researchers from the school’s Pamplin College of Business and the College of Natural Resources and Environment partnered to develop the study.
“State park visitor centers should be places where visitor experiences are enhanced and knowledge of the area’s cultural, natural and recreational resources is informed,”
said Joe Elton, state parks director for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
“This study suggests that these new robust, multimedia displays do that in a most entertaining fashion.” Virginia’s 36 state parks are managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
In a random survey of visitors to the park’s visitor center, 98 percent of respondents found the exhibits to be educational; 94 percent described the exhibits as entertaining. Similarly, 91 percent of survey participants would recommend the exhibits to friends and family and 95 percent would support the development of similar exhibits in other Virginia State Parks.
The study was conducted by Dr. Vincent P. Magnini of Virginia Tech’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Dr. Michael G. Sorice from the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. “The visitors overwhelmingly like the new displays, intend to spread positive word-of-mouth about them and support the notion of constructing more,” Dr. Magnini said of the study’s results.
The Lake Anna exhibits were designed and installed by Imperial Multimedia of Baraboo, Wisc., in collaboration with state park staff. They feature a life-like storyteller, numerous interactive educational exhibits, several video features and a 3-D theater. A digital sign provides live streaming weather, notices of daily park events, alerts and a slideshow of special park features. To get a glimpse of the new exhibits, this video will give you an idea: