Dataset from real-life and virtual visiting experiences carried out in some rooms of the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa

Occupants’ perception of a space depends on their experience. Four kinds of visiting experiences were carried out in the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa (housed inside the Monumental Charterhouse of Calci). Four of the permanent exhibition halls of the Museum were selected for the survey: Historical Gallery (Room A), Mammal’s Hall (Room B), Ungulates’ Gallery (Room C) and Cetacean Gallery (Room D). The visiting experiences were: real-life, and virtual based respectively on videos, photos or computer-generated photorealistic images (renders). The dataset provides a base to asses if virtual experiences can be implemented in museum environments as an alternative to the real-life experiences, and to understand if such an implementation is detrimental or not in terms of participants’ perception of the space. Photos, videos and renders are in this on-line repository.