In a push to appeal to a younger audience and make the traditional museum experience more engaging, The British Museum is running a trial of virtual reality headsets to navigate the Bronze Age and interact with 3D scans of objects.
With the possibility of making the virtual experience a permanent tool to explore its collection, The British Museum is partnering with Samsung and will be utilizing Samsung Gear VR headsets for this latest partnership.
In what the museum is calling a Virtual Reality Weekend taking place on August 8 – 9, participants will be invited to navigate a virtual reality Bronze Age roundhouse within a settlement. Inside the house, visitors will be able to interact with 3D scans of objects from the British Museum collection and explore multiple interpretations of how the objects might have been used in the past.
Interior of a virtual reality Bronze Age roundhouse
Visitors will also experience varied lighting and atmosphere, exploring a growing research area that suggests a ritual context to houses being aligned with the sun.
Chris Michaels, Head of Digital and Publishing at the British Museum, said: “The British Museum is constantly looking for new opportunities to innovate in the digital space. We are extremely excited to partner with Samsung on this virtual reality project. It gives us the chance to create an amazing new context for objects in our collection, exploring new interpretations for our Bronze Age objects. We can’t wait to share it with our visitors.”
This fall the Museum will also begin trials of the virtual reality experience within local schools to review the potential capability of VR experiences in enhancing student learning about the Bronze Age.
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