"More immersive displays generally produce higher social presence — shared formats have distinct advantages over isolating HMD experiences for museum settings."
Oh, Bailenson & Welch (2018), systematic review of 152 studies. Supported by Falk & Dierking's Contextual Model of Learning, validated with 217 museum visitors — which identifies the sociocultural context as one of three core drivers of museum learning.
ALICE is a shared experience, by design
Every visitor in an ALICE session experiences the film together, in a fully seated group environment. There are no individual headsets to manage, no isolated visitors, and no fractured social experience.
The research on museum learning is clear: learning in cultural institutions is fundamentally social. Exhibits that isolate visitors from one another work against the grain of how people actually absorb and retain information in informal learning environments. The format itself is part of the pedagogy.
"The pathway from presence to learning is indirect and conditional. Presence creates the conditions for learning — but those conditions must be channelled through appropriate instructional design."
Makransky & Petersen (2021), the Cognitive Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL), Educational Psychology Review. The 2019 Makransky, Terkildsen & Mayer study found that immersive richness without design strategies actually increased cognitive load and reduced learning outcomes.
The instructional design is built in, not bolted on
Every ALICE film is developed with subject-matter experts and structured around the CAMIL pathway: technology features generate presence, which activates motivation and interest, which — when channelled through intentional narrative design — produces measurable learning outcomes.
We don't hand you a hardware kit and a content library. The instructional design framework is embedded in every production decision — from narrative arc to pacing to the moments of reflection built into each film. You're not buying immersive technology. You're programming a designed learning experience.
"Plausibility Illusion — the sense that depicted events are actually occurring — depends on narrative coherence. Without it, even technically immersive environments fail to generate genuine presence."
Slater (2009), Place Illusion and Plausibility Illusion framework, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Supported by Kolb's experiential learning theory: presence provides the concrete experience, but narrative structure scaffolds the reflection that turns experience into learning.
Every film is a story first
The novelty of immersive technology is real — and it fades. What doesn't fade is a well-told story. ALICE films are produced by a team of professional filmmakers and subject-matter experts with a single governing principle: story comes first, technology serves it.
This is why ALICE visitors report sustained engagement across repeat visits — the novelty effect is the entry point, not the product. When the sense of wonder fades, the story remains.
"Adding immersive VR to a science lab simulation caused more presence but less learning — and higher cognitive load. Without design strategies to manage cognitive load, immersive richness becomes overwhelming."
Makransky, Terkildsen & Mayer (2019), Learning and Instruction. Effect size d = 1.30 for presence increase — paired with lower learning outcomes when instructional design is absent. The 2022 follow-up confirmed that managed cognitive load reverses the effect entirely.
Grounded cinematography that doesn't compete with the content
The most common mistake in immersive exhibit design is confusing visual richness with presence. When the sensory environment competes with the learning content, the environment wins — and the content loses.
ALICE films use grounded, stable cinematography specifically designed to generate Place Illusion without triggering cognitive overload. Camera movement is purposeful. Audio design supports the narrative rather than overwhelming it. The experience is immersive. The content is what you remember.
"Fulldome and shared immersive formats offer a practical advantage: they are inherently group experiences, supporting 20 to 150+ visitors per session, with minimal cybersickness risk compared to individual HMD experiences."
Yu et al. (2016), 781-participant fulldome study. Jacobson (2011, 2013), Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Falk & Dierking Contextual Model: the physical context — including accessibility and spatial design — is one of three core drivers of museum learning outcomes.
Fully seated, wheelchair accessible, no headsets required
Access isn't a compliance checkbox — it's a learning outcome. Visitors who feel physically comfortable, who can attend alongside their group, and who aren't managing unfamiliar technology are visitors who are actually present for the content.
ALICE uses synchronised headsets in a fully seated group format. Every seat accommodates every visitor. The experience is calibrated so that someone who has never encountered immersive media can engage fully from the first minute. Accessibility is how we make sure the research-backed learning outcomes actually reach every visitor in the room.
"Design for sustained engagement, not spectacle. Museums benefit from immersive formats that encourage repeat visits and evolve over time — rather than single-use installations that rapidly exhaust visitor novelty."
Miguel-Alonso, Rodriguez-Garcia & Checa (2024), novelty effect longitudinal research. Falk & Dierking (2000): repeat engagement is a key predictor of long-term informal learning outcomes. Zhou, Chen & Wang (2022), museum-specific meta-analysis: sustained programming outperforms one-time installations.
Arrives fully installed. Leaves without a trace. Returns with new content.
The research on novelty and repeat engagement points to a clear programming model: rotate content regularly, design for return visits, and avoid the obsolescence trap of permanent installations.
ALICE is a temporary exhibit by design — not as a budget concession, but as the correct implementation of what the research recommends. A three-to-twelve month engagement, a growing film library to draw from year over year, and no capital outlay means your institution can programme immersive experiences sustainably, not just once. The most research-aligned thing about ALICE is that it leaves.