Task 2.

Experiencing museum – virtual presence

Author: Amalia Andreea Vasile

Please, choose two institutions from the list below:

1. Zwierzyniecki House (branch of the Krakow Museum)

2. Schindler’s Factory (branch of the Krakow Museum)
3. Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Krakow
4. National Museum in Krakow

and evaluate chosen museums by providing answers to the following questions:

1. Which museum did you decide to evaluate and why?

First museum Second museum

Schindler’s Factory (branch of the Krakow Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and
Museum) Technology in Krakow

2. Have you ever been in this museum?

First museum Second museum

No No

3. Have you ever heard about any initiatives of this museum?

First museum Second museum

No, I have not. No, I have not.

4. Go to the website of the museum and describe (and justify your choice) what kind of information
provided on that site you have found:
- Most interesting, intriguing
- Fun, entertaining
- Technically useful (e.g. opening hours etc.)
- Poorly prepared, of low quality, not accessible
- Actually missing but important in your point of view
First museum Second museum
The most interesting thing that I noticed is that The most intriguing thing, from my point of
they have options for people who have view is the Japanese Language School, I think it
disabilities, they cannot walk, see or hear. is a great opportunity and the perfect place to
I think it is great and entertaining that they learn this language if you are interested.
have some pictures on the website from the Talking about entertaining I want to mention
museum to make you interested, and to want the first thing that I saw on their website, the
to find more details. location, the museum is close to Wawel Royal
I find technically useful that starting from Castle and the view from its Café is amazing.
November 2, 2018 an electronic system of It is technically useful that they present their
ticket control was installed, so they made the events spaces, with details, capacity, number of
access easier. seats, and important details for event
I noticed that it is not accessible to ask a organizing agencies.
question directly on the website, you have to
call them or to send an email. I think sometimes
people who have already visited the museum
can help you.
From my point of view, an important missing
thing from the website are the reviews, you can
see opinions from tourists who visited the
museum, the reviews have a big impact on
people’s choices.
The only aspect that I can say that it is not easily
accessible is the list with prices, it is a little bit
complicated to find it in the menu. This is an
important variable for tourist and I find useful a
“Prices” category in the menu.
I couldn’t find an important missing aspect from
the website, I think they offer a lot of valuable
information about any detail that you might be
curious.

5. Evaluate the availability of the content provided on the website in different languages.
First museum Second museum
The information from the website is in English The information from the website is in Polish,
and Polish, I consider that it is recommended to English and Japanese. I also think that it would
have also other languages like French, Spanish be good for tourists to find other language
or German, because there are people who don’t options. Moreover, I found the Japanese option
understand English and it is complicated for very interesting on the website.
them.

6. Is there any possibility of ‘virtual tours’? describe.

First museum
The museum doesn’t offer a virtual tour, but
you can find videos with the museum on
YouTube from tourists, but they are not official
sources from the Schindler’s Factory.
Second museum
People can find some videos that were made a
month ago because of Coronavirus on its
YouTube channel, Facebook page and IGTV with
virtual tours. The museum is not fully
presented, only some parts, paintings and
artifacts by a tour guide.

7. What social media platforms are used by the museum? Indicate the intensity and regularity of
their use.
First museum Second museum
The museum uses only Facebook as a social It uses Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
media platform. They have around 3 posts per There are around 4 posts per week on
week. Instagram, 1 post per day on Facebook and 20
videos on YouTube. I can say they use social
media a lot to keep in touch with tourists and
people who appreciate the museum.

8. Is the social media content available in different languages?

First museum Second museum
The social media content is in Polish, you can The descriptions of pictures and videos from
only use the translation from Facebook. I Instagram are in Polish, but hashtags are in
noticed only some posts in English about the English. Also, the posts from Facebook page are
status of the museum during quarantine in this
spring.
9. Is it possible to gain some new knowledge or to learn about rare, unusual things by following the
museum in social media? Give some examples.
First museum
They offer new and interesting information
about the events organized at the museum:
“Przypominamy, że w dniach od 11 do 14
września 2020 r. Muzeum Krakowa organizuje
14. obchody Dni Pamięci Ofiar Gestapo.
Tegoroczna edycja poświęcona będzie 80.
rocznicy przeprowadzenia Akcji AB w
Krakowie.”
They are interested in keeping the history alive
with short stories from the past: Na potrzeby
NSDAP kamienica przy Rynku Głównym została
połączona z sąsiednim budynkiem nr 26.
Centrum szkoleniowe NSDAP mieściło się przy
An der Langen Wiese Strasse (al. Focha 33), w
przedwojennym Instytucie Balneologicznym.
They also have valuable information about the
architecture: Sukiennice – wielka hala
handlowa wzniesiona w XIII w. pośrodku
Rynku Głównego – rozbudowane w XIV w. w
stylu gotyckim, gruntownie przekształcone w
połowie XVI w. w stylu renesansowym, po
restauracji w latach 1875–1879 zaczęły pełnić
funkcję reprezentacyjną; odbywały się tu
wielkie bale i uroczystości patriotyczne.
They supported a sporting event in February.
I think these are interesting and valuable
information and they come from an institution
which makes them useful for the community
and tourists.
10. Does the museum asks visitors about their opinions or encourage them to present their
reflections on social media? Give some examples.
First museum
Sometimes the museum asks people for their
stories so they can organize better events:
“Jeżeli miałeś kogoś w rodzinie, kto był
zaangażowany w konspirację w Krakowie w
czasie II wojny światowej bądź w okresie
stalinowskim, to napisz do nas na adres.”
in Polish, you can only use the translation from
Facebook in your set language. The videos from
YouTube are in Polish too and there are no
subtitles.
Second museum
I think they offer very useful knowledge about
the Japanese culture: “Drzeworyty barwne
ukiyo-e były jednym z dominujących
elementów dawnej kultury popularnej Japonii.
Za proces produkcji tego rodzaju grafik
odpowiadał zespół wyspecjalizowanych
rzemieślników: artysta-malarz, drzeworytnik
oraz drukarz. Istota japońskiego rzemiosła
fascynowała Emila Orlika.” They also present
stories from the past of Japan or they give
books and articles recommendations.
Moreover, they encourage people to stay home
during this period and they offer ideas and
videos about activities for home like origami,
plus some games and challenges: “W zeszłą
sobotę zaproponowaliśmy Wam dwa
ćwiczenia, aby rozruszać swoje szare komórki.
Mówimy oczywiście o krzyżówce oraz
nonogramie – czy udało Wam się rozwiązać
oba te ćwiczenia? Kto nie miał okazji się
sprawdzić może zajrzeć do naszego
poprzedniego posta”
In addition, they don’t present only aspects
about culture and books from Japan, they
include preferences, symbols, gastronomy and
activities from the Asian country:
“Obecnie tradycja jedzenia wagashi popularna
jest zarówno wśród turystów, jak i samych
Japończyków. Zazwyczaj podawane są one do
herbaty, przełamując jej goryczkę. Można je
kupić w czasie festiwali, na straganach i w
cukierniach, które od setek lat specjalizują się
w produkcji danych wagashi.”
Second museum
I noticed they are interested in people’s
opinions, they always encourage them to share
their stories in the comments section: “Nasze
wspomnienia o wystawie stały się już odrobinę
mgliste, a tekst, który dotychczas widniał na
oryginalnych kartach komiksu wyparował za
I also noticed that they respond to comments
posted by people and they encourage them to
keep in contact: “świetnie! W takim razie
widzimy się już w kwietniu! :)” or “Świetnie!
Bardzo nam miło!”
11. Does the museum react to questions posted by social media users? How? Give some examples.
First museum
I checked the reviews section and usually they
do not reply, I could notice only some likes from
them to posts or comments from people. I
could find only some responds to people’s
comments: “Majority of those recipes are from
Nazi-German occupation period in Poland.”
12. Can you identify any humorous posts present on museum social media? Give some examples.
What do you think about that humorous communication?
First museum
I couldn’t identify any humorous posts on
museum social media, but I think the topic of
the museum is a very serious and sad one and
that’s why they prefer to communicate in this
style, polite and sober. I don’t find adequate a
humorous style for their posts.
In the same time, I like humorous
communication, I think it is a proof or courage,
and it is a smart way to attract young people
and also a great method to make people visit
your museum, because some of them consider
this activity boring or too serious, but if you use
an humorous communication you can change
their minds. But, again this type of
communication must have some limits
sprawą tajemniczej siły 😏 Wzywamy Was na
pomoc – uzupełnijcie puste kadry swoimi
rysunkami, dialogami oraz fabułą!
Co było dalej? Wy nam powiedzcie! Nie
zapomnijcie udostępniać swoich historii w
komentarzach!” I find this very useful, because
they take the comments like feedback from
people, they can see how people understand
what they presented.
They want people to learn more things in a
creative way not only reading, and they
organize competitions, so people can learn by
working and being proud of their results:
“Zapraszamy do wzięcia udziału w
międzynarodowym konkursie dla dzieci na
stworzenie wiersza haiku w języku polskim
oraz towarzyszącej mu ilustracji.”
Second museum
The museum reacts to people’s questions from
comments and they try to be useful: “Nie
znamy jeszcze dokładnej daty, ale wystawa na
pewno będzie czynna do połowy maja!”
It is easy to notice that they have a community
and they keep some nice relationships: “Pani
Ewo, moc pozdrowień od pracowników
Manggha! <3”
They always thank people for their support and
take in consideration the advice: „Dziękujemy
za uwagi, staramy się rozjaśnić filmy jak tylko
możemy, ale wyzwania techniczne czasami nas
pokonują”
Second museum
I cannot say I Identified humorous posts on this
museum social media, but I can say they prefer
to communicate in a friendly way.
They have a lot of activities and games on their
social media platforms and I think they would
not have had the same popularity and success if
they had communicated in a serious and sober
way.
The museum has short talks in the comments
section with people and I could notice that they
respect each other, they communicate politely
and they keep a friendly atmosphere.
depending on the topic of the institution that
uses it.
13. Did the virtual presence of the museum enhance you to visit this place in “traditional” form?
First museum
Definitely yes, I have to say that this museum
was already on my list of museums that I want
to visit since I saw the movie “Schindler’s list”
and also this is one of the reasons why I choose
this museum from the list of options.
I also have to say that they are implicated in
offering people valuable and interesting
information which is an amazing thing for
people who cannot visit in the “traditional”
form.
Second museum
I appreciate the way the museum keeps in
touch with people who appreciate its work and
I think it is an excellent model for other
institutions for how to act and to behave with
people who support you. I am sure that it is a
nice and warm atmosphere while visiting the
museum. I am not a fan of Japanese culture, but
I found very nice and pleasant the way the
museum communicates with people, I can say I
would like to attend one of their events, or have
a coffee in its café because I think the
atmosphere in the museum is the same as on
social media.