# MuMIA: Multimodal Interactions to Better Understand Art Contexts
## 4 Evaluation Study
### Results
#### 4.2.1 Experience Design and Narrative  
The design of a cultural heritage tool is not only communicated in terms of message but also in terms of experience. Therefore, the cultural heritage tool should support the design of appropriate narratives and mediated experiences. The perspective of the visitor should be considered when trying to draw an artificial line between the design of the tool and the preoccupations of the cultural heritage institutions. The study participants found _MuMIA_ more engaging than the typical audio guide, as it could guide them through micro-blocks of narratives that kept their attention during the visit. The study participants mentioned that they were absorbed and lost their sense of time when interacting with the multimodal interface. _\" I totally lost myself in the visit experience! The feeling was great and I hope I had more time to explore more MuMIA exhibits and other aspects of the gallery. \"_ \(\sim\) [Participant #4]  
_\" The time slipped away so fast! I was fully concentrated and engaged with the exploration of the School of Athens; that categorization and the chunking of the narratives into micro-steps of acquiring knowledge definitely helped. \"_ \(\sim\) [Participant #3]  
That level of visitor engagement often results in increased learning, entertainment, and edutainment. The study participants found the micro-narratives as micro-blocks of knowledge that they could be more easily absorb rather than having a full detailed description of the art exhibit in a single interaction. Considering that such tasks are both instructive and entertaining and that pleasant and positive experiences are favored over unpleasant ones in our memory [55], the structure of _MuMIA_ will help the edutainment goal of cultural heritage applications. _\" I loved the features of MuMIA! The fact that I could visually explore the scene and select a figure or an instrument, that I knew nothing about, to receive information and know about it, was super helpful. For example, I didn't know what the central figure holds and I wouldn't be able to ask about it, if I couldn't gaze at it to show to the system somehow that I need more information about it. \"_ \(\sim\) [Participant #10]  
_\" MuMIA incorporates a great multi-modal interaction mechanism! The look-and-ask feature and the micro-blocks of narratives, I have the feeling that I could acquire quick knowledge and information about the art exhibit; which would normally take time when searching in the web and Wikipedia. \"_ \(\sim\) [Participant #11]  
Moreover, the multimodal interactions and the interconnected micro-narratives provided by _MuMIA_ seem to have an affective impact and to improve cognitive and learning response when exploring art. The study participants could build connections between the areas of interest presented in the art exhibit in a more concrete and easy-to-follow way, which did not demand cognitive overload. We should mention that the volume of the presented cultural information is the same in _MuMIA_ and a typical audio guide but that the micro-narratives and the self-exploration evoking helped visitors to perceive and absorb the cultural content in a more effective way. _\" The system gave me the opportunity of self-exploration, meaning that I could explore, inspect, and process what I liked at a given time under a given motivation. So, it triggeredmy curiosity and it decreased my cognitive effort, helping me to better understand the concept of the art exhibit and hopefully remember it. \"_ \(\sim\) [Participant #2]  
\" I am sure that a single pass through the whole information does not help you to remember, and thus learn, the presented cultural content, in contrast to a more goal-oriented approach, as the one supported in MuMIA. The visitors are implicitly guided to small chunks of information, which are more memorable and thus the visitors can recall the information in the future.