From Sensory Activation to Community Engagement: A Dual-Path Approach to Constructing Educational Ecology in University Museums

Amid the digital transformation reshaping cultural communication paradigms, university museums must transcend the traditional “display cabinet model” of one-way transmission to construct educational ecosystems that meet the demands of the new era. Grounded in the theoretical framework of educational ecology, this study proposes a dual-path approach synergizing sensory activation and community engagement: multisensory experiences employ sensory storytelling to trigger embodied cognition, thereby transforming cultural DNA into bodily memory. Meanwhile, community engagement restructures social relationship networks through participatory co-creation, fostering intergenerational collaboration and localized practical innovation. Research reveals that multisensory experience design deepens cultural identity, while cross-sector collaboration networks drive social innovation via resource sharing and dynamic equilibrium mechanisms. To transition from knowledge repositories to cultural organisms, university museums must integrate sensory narratives with community co-creation. By establishing multisensory exhibition systems and online-offline community platforms, they can catalyze the integration of design practices with urban cultural development, thereby constructing a sustainable educational ecology that offers innovative pathways for cultural heritage preservation and social cohesion.