National Museum of Indonesia

Since its opening in 1868, the National Museum of Indonesia in Central Jakarta has built one of the richest and most complete collections of its kind in all of Southeast Asia.

Listening to history

Challenge

Since its opening in 1868, the National Museum of Indonesia in Central Jakarta has built one of the richest and most complete collections of its kind in all of Southeast Asia. Also known as Museum Gajah, the museum boasts an amazing 141,000 objects and artifacts. Its exhibits span the prehistoric, archaeology, numismatics, ceramics, ethnography, geography and history.

With a new section recently added to the complex, the museum needed to promote its special features to a new generation of museumgoers.

It also needed to ensure that its exhibits could attract both locals and tourists.

Solution

Combining mapping and audio technology into an alluring, easy-to-use app improves the museum experience, giving the riches of the past new appeal for today’s museumgoers.

The Docent Advantage

The app integrated Docent’s Indoor Navigation System to bring to life a digitally-enhanced — and fun — museum tour for all visitors. The map platform delivered:

- Audio in both Indonesian and English.
- Detailed information on objects, artifacts and collections.
- Clear directions to museumgoers’ favorite exhibits, saving time and effort navigating the space.

Results

The mobile app audio tour created clear benefits in:

- Cost: The museum saved tens of thousands of dollars in purchase and maintenance of audio hardware.
- Labor: Staff were freed from spending hours manually updating audio files across multiple devices.
- Convenience: Visitors didn’t have to leave an ID to rent an audio device.

With plans to enhance the app with Docent’s Indoor Positions System, Museum Gajah is primed to introduce a future Augmented Reality experience. This will place virtual treasures throughout the space that visitors can collect, further encouraging new audiences to explore the museum.