Virtual reality in the museum: the cultural heritage of Podlasie
What is the educational VR solution for the Museum of Southern Podlasie?
The use of immersion (a multidimensional introduction of the user’s senses into virtual reality) is an innovative solution for museums. See how we have offered visitors educational attractions using new VR technologies, in cooperation with the Museum of Southern Podlasie in Biała Podlaska.
The Museum of Southern Podlasie in Biała Podlaska
The Muzeum of Southern Podlasie’s primary mission is to promote this region’s culture and history. This task has been carried out since 1924, when Dr Wacław Nartowski opened the first museum facility in Biała Podlaska. It is located in the impressive Palace and Park Complex of the Radziwiłł family. In addition, the museum is valued primarily for its extensive archaeological collections, paintings by Bazyli Albiczuk, its collection of Orthodox icons, and numismatic collections.
Challenge
Introducing the museum and culture of Podlasie into the virtual reality world
- In attempts to find newer and more exciting ways of showing the history of Southern Podlasie, the museum decided to trust modern VR technologies. As a company specializing in education, we offered our support. The culture of this region definitely deserves to be shown in an even more engaging and attractive way.
- Our team of programmers and graphic designers decided to use highly developed and interactive VR technologies, 360° photos, and 3D graphics, which enable museum visitors to participate in a fantastic experience – a virtual tour. They offer more “tangible” knowledge of the culture, language, and history of Podlasie.
- Our company’s major challenge was building an exceptionally authentic world using solutions such as VR goggles. Achieving this required several references, primarily photos of paintings, to enable an attractive presentation of Southern Podlasie.
Our cooperation with the Museum of Southern Podlasie required a well-thought-out visualization of the collections and exhibits that present the culture of this region. This project was also intended to arise interest in the museum’s interior among younger and older recipients.
Solution
The use of virtual reality technologies to show the history and culture of Southern Podlasie
- Based on the materials provided by the client, we managed to create a solution that educates in a fascinating way – a virtual tour through the gardens of the Polish painter Bazyli Albiczuk (a lover of Podlasie’s nature). Users of this technology can freely explore all elements of Albiczuk’s paintings that are part of the museum’s collection.
- Considering children’s need to learn about this region’s culture was one of this project’s priorities. Younger visitors experience the world around them entirely differently than adults. Virtual reality offers children interactive museum equipment (VR goggles) – the image displayed in virtual reality is literally at their fingertips..
- The fascinating elements of the experience are: showing the climate and mood of the paintings in different seasons and during the day, taking into account the sounds of fauna and flora (like cranes, rustling of trees), and creating the impression of “wrapping” users in the surrounding nature (leaves falling on them).
Finally, it turned out that the greatest attraction in the museum among visitors was the two stands of VR goggles at the exhibition of paintings by Bazyli Albiczuk. While immersing yourself in virtual reality, you can enter the gardens created by the painter.
A virtual tour as a journey between the paintings of Bazyli Albiczuk
What is it all about?
The use of VR made it possible to present different seasons and related changes in the environment. Each of the following locations offers various phenomena seen by the goggles’ users. All of the selected works in virtual reality have depth, and the sounds of nature can be pleasantly heard from them.
Building a magical narrative in the VR world
What does virtual immersion look like?
The awakened flora is everywhere. It envelops us and invites us to its world. We feel like Alice in Wonderland, in a beautiful, unreal garden, where poppies stretch their charm, and lupins are a colossal thicket. We seem tiny in the stunning immensity of nature. The ubiquitous flora grows before our eyes and entwines us with its charm. The birds sitting on the path rise; they lead us into the depths of the painted plants.
Technology
HTC Vive Pro 2
The HTC VIVE Pro 2 headset provides a fantastic experience thanks to the image in 5K resolution. It also guarantees a wide field of view of 120°, which allows users to see much more in virtual reality.
The goggles are highly convenient and comfortable to use, which is especially useful during an exciting journey through images designed with VR technology. HTC VIVE Pro, thanks to adapting to the natural capabilities of the human eye, is ideal for exploring museum collections and learning about the culture of Podlasie.
Effects
- Success #1 | A more engaging way to explore the museum’s collection
Immersion while experiencing the museum’s interior allows visitors, regardless of their age, to discover the cultural richness of Southern Podlasie in a pleasant way. Virtual reality goggles provide a feeling of totally entering into the world created by the artists of the region’s heritage.
- Success #2 | A solution adapted to the needs of a wide range of visitors
VR interactions with the world offered by the Museum of Southern Podlasie, with its rich collections, have been designed for younger and older audiences. Everyone can freely absorb the culture of Podlasie in virtual reality.
- Success #3 | Education and entertainment in one solution
In addition to getting to better know the work of Bazyli Albiczuk, not only in theoretical form, virtual reality offers to experience them in practice, including different nature seasons. In this way, the museum wanted to teach about the region’s history while entertaining its recipients.
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