Virtual cultural heritage consumption: a 3D learning experience

Current advances in technology are developing new tools capable of supporting and facilitating the diffusion of knowledge for a wide range of final user. Web-based technologies offer new powerful tools for accessing knowledge and educational contents related to the field of cultural heritage in an easy and interactive way. As a consequence, there is an increasing effort in digitising museum collections and exhibitions, as well as in diffusing digital educational content throughout the web. In this way, a new vision of cultural heritage accessed via computer is emerging: virtual cultural heritage. The aim of this paper is to investigate the consumption process of virtual cultural heritage, by examining the main characteristics of its consumers and how they make use of digital educational content, in order to more deeply understand the link between consumption experience and virtual cultural heritage.