Co-designing Immersive and Inclusive Virtual Museum with children and People with Disabilities: a Pilot Study

Immersive virtual environments represent a great opportunity for museums to enhance visitor experience through edutainment. However, to provide an enjoyable entertainment and learning experience for all visitors, including people with disabilities, the virtual museum must not only be accessible, but also inclusive: they must provide greater equality and cultural and learning opportunities for all social groups. To achieve this goal, the concept of Universal Design needs to evolve into a user-centered approach where people are involved in co-designing the virtual museum experience. In this context, the article describes a pilot study conducted at the University of Macerata, which explores the possibility of using high-fidelity prototyping in a virtual laboratory to support the co-creation of an immersive virtual museum environment with relevant target users, including children and people with disability, from the earliest design stages. The paper presents the results of the co-design process and discusses its implications in defining design requirements to ensure the accessibility of immersive solutions for cultural heritage.