After a period of being heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities of museums and monuments are on an active recovery momentum.
Create connections
According to the Cultural Heritage Department (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), in the first quarter of 2023, museums and historical sites of President Ho Chi Minh at the Presidential Palace recorded a sharp increase in the number of visitors. In particular, President Ho Chi Minh's relic at the Presidential Palace from November 11 to February 2022 welcomed more than 2 million visitors.
Vietnam Fine Arts Museum welcomed more than 31.800 visitors, foreign visitors accounted for 25%. In addition, the museum also welcomed about 10.000 visitors to attend thematic exhibitions and exhibitions of other individuals and units; successfully organized thematic exhibitions, coordinated with the Asian Cultural Center to bring 6 works to display in Korea.
The Museum of Cultures of Vietnam's Ethnic Groups also recorded an increase in the number of visitors. In 2022, the museum welcomes more than 60.000 visitors, including 18 international delegations. Ho Chi Minh Museum has welcomed more than 440.000 visitors. The museum also performs well the display, collection and inventory of artifacts; Create content, upload 4 clips with the topics: "Poems to wish President Ho Chi Minh's Lunar New Year 1969", "Remember President Ho Chi Minh's birthday in May", "History of our country" and post 5 stories in the column "Telling a story about Ho Chi Minh's moral example" on the museum's website and fanpage.
According to Mr. Pham Dinh Phong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, although museums and relics are on the way to recovery, there is still a problem of solutions to attract more tourists. Leaders of the Department of Cultural Heritage suggested that leaders of museums and relic sites need to digitize soon in the operation of the museum system and relic areas to increase the application of technology in displaying and introducing artifacts, directing visitors from one museum to another, creating connectivity between units.
Visitors visit the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts. Photo: ROYAL TRIAL
Content is still the core
In Ho Chi Minh City, the technical and technological application gallery at the Southern Women's Museum has applied 3D projection technology (hologram technology equipment) in the exhibition space, helping visitors to feel the artifacts as in real space with many different angles.
War Remnants Museum recreates 5 large prisons in South Vietnam during the anti-American resistance war in a simulated outdoor container. Not only using 3D technologies, but also incorporating light, temperature, and sound technologies... to partially show the authenticity of the old prisons.
Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History applies the "3D/360 intelligent interactive museum" to serve visitors from afar, and recently added a Sanbot robot model applying artificial intelligence (AI) to guide visitors, with features such as: photo slideshows, introductory videos about the museum, artifacts, galleries...
Ho Chi Minh City Museum has also experimented with digitization at the Nature - Archeology Gallery. Here, visitors will be equipped with virtual reality glasses to experience images of terrain types in Ho Chi Minh City, areas with archaeological artifacts are reproduced by virtual images and associated with on-site artifacts to bring excitement to visitors.
According to insiders, digital transformation or application of technology is only a necessary condition, but there must be a sufficient condition that is the innovation of thinking in the way of doing things. Technology will develop constantly, but if the content remains unchanged, it cannot work as expected. For museums, identity and attractiveness in themselves are still the main factors, poor content, no matter how modern technology is, it is difficult to attract viewers.
The Department of Cultural Heritage said that in the past time, the revenue from the entrance fees to museums and monuments has been invested back by the localities for the management, protection, repair and promotion of the values of the monuments. According to heritage experts, it is reasonable to collect fees for preserving and promoting the value of relics, demonstrating the community's sense of responsibility for the heritage.
