Time Travel as a Visitor Experience: A Virtual Reality Exhibit Template for Historical Exploration

Abstract

Developments in digital infrastructures and expanding digital literacies lower barriers for museums and visitor centres to provide new interactive experiences with their collections and heritage. With virtual reality more accessible, heritage institutions are eager to find out how this technology can create new methods in interpretation, learning and visualisation. This paper reviews virtual reality exhibits that were built and displayed in cultural heritage centres. By taking advantage of existing visitor digital literacies, the exhibits provided accessible immersive exploratory experiences for inter-generational audiences. The digital framework developed is a template for virtual reality content interaction that is both intuitive and powerful. The exhibits include digital reconstructions of a physical scenes using game engines for a convincing visual experience. We contextualise the logic behind a virtual reality setup for the separate institutions, how they assisted with the narrative as well as if an immersive digital environment provided a more profound response in users. Our aim is to communicate approaches, workflows and content used to overcome the challenge of presenting a period in history to a modern audience, while using emergent technology to build connections and disseminate knowledge that is memorable and profound.

Movement in Virtual Time: How Virtual Reality Can Support Long-Term Thinking

“…The pilot study addressed the research questions concerning VR and the conveyance of long time horizons. Subjects could use the application quickly and without assistance, which is in line with recommendations for implementing VR applications [9]. Since the application is operated by rotating one's own body on the spot and too many rotations could cause dizziness, choosing a time conversion rate from years to clock rotations was a challenge.…”

“…In museums, VR is used to present historical research to the public and to stimulate discussion and engagement. It is essential to keep the usability as simple as possible to minimize the need for museum staff [9].…”