Museums serve as crucial institutions in conserving cultural heritage, facilitating historical education, promoting scientific research, and creating an effective exhibition atmosphere. The museum atmosphere is paramount for showcasing culture, enhancing exhibition effectiveness, and improving the audience experience. This study aims to explore how museum exhibition atmospherics affect visitor behavior, utilizing the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model as a theoretical framework. We selected a sample of 460 adult visitors from the Shandong Museum (Comprehensive). Our research findings reveal the following: (a) The physical factors in the museum's atmospheric cues directly influence visitors' authentic experiences, which are indirectly mediated by layout factors, vibrancy factors, and pressure factors. (b) Visitors' authentic experiences are positively associated with cultural identity and significantly influence their behavioral intentions, including the intentions to revisit and word-of-mouth recommendations. Furthermore, the intentions to revisit positively impact word-of-mouth recommendations. In conclusion, these results not only provide empirical evidence for museum exhibition design and underscore the importance of the museum atmosphere but also offer practical and theoretical insights for cultural heritage preservation and development.