How can Virtual Reality (VR) take museum experiences to the next level?

Virtual Reality Museum Experience

Virtual reality is one of the most widely discussed and adopted technologies in the world right now. Among its several other uses, the ‘edutainment’ capabilities of Virtual Reality make it a natural fit for cultural institutes, events, and programs. With VR, the latest trend combining art and technology, has completely revolutionized the art world. Institutions and artists have been experimenting with this new digital technology to create immersive artworks and exhibitions that viewers can interact with. In 2016, the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia introduced a range of VR experiences, claiming that these had altered visitors, views of the world. People who visit the project are completely immersed in an interactive journey that transports them to the furthest reaches of space, the depths of the ocean, and even the interior of the human body.

VR for Museums?

Virtual reality is a fantastic tool for museums to bring their treasures to life. It provides a unique feeling of absolute immersion in an exhibit. The art world explores this intriguing new technology to immerse users in a 3D virtual environment using headsets and tools like Facebook 360, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Google Tilt Brush. Advanced VR app development services can offer state-of-the-art solutions to conduct museum tours, create interactive displays, and bring scenes to life. Curators can use VR to contextualize things and demonstrate their actual scale for better understanding and experience.

Embracing the rise of VR

Many museums across the globe are already reaping the benefits of virtual reality to add an extra dimension to their collections. The Curious Alice exhibition, which explores the origin, adaptations, and reinventions of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland, debuted at the London V&A in the summer of 2021. Visitors can experience a playful VR environment to interact with galleries of photographs, movies, posters, manuscripts, and costumes.

An innovative VR display started in 2018 at the National Museum of Finland in Helsinki. It allows visitors to time travel through VR. W. Ekman’s painting, The Opening of the Diet of 1863 by Alexander II’. You can step inside the painting using a VR headset and find yourself at the Hall of Mirrors, speaking with the Russian Emperor, and be part of Finnish life and politics in the 1860s.

In 2017, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, along with Microsoft HoloLens, created a thrilling VR experience. Visitors were able to interact with a vintage American sports automobile, the Ford GT40. The storytelling potential of the exhibit was increased manifold by blending the real and virtual spaces. Visitors were drawn even further into the experience with the addition of spatial audio, otherwise known as surround sound. They could hear the engines roar and the sounds of tyres racing across a track while learning about the history of the vehicles.

Remote VR Museum Visits

Art appreciation has traditionally been expensive and exclusive, which requires planning and
preparation. Major natural history or scientific museums frequently experience long lines, crowded spaces, and unfriendly/inhospitable staff members, making visits tiresome and tedious. Too often, the time limit allotted per exhibit will be too short for them to enjoy the visit. Besides these drawbacks, this model contradicts any museum’s goal to spread knowledge and art to as many people as possible.

Robust and innovative VR development solutions can solve these problems and take the museum experience to the next level by recreating spaces, remote destinations, and places that no longer exist. Even people with mobility issues can enjoy the museum experience using a VR headset from the comfort of their homes. Many museums have developed online tours and displays that allow for private viewing or self-guided exploration of their collections while allowing visitors to remain in front of an exhibit for as long as they choose without being hindered by rope barriers or glass walls.

Virtual visitors can explore the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, through a series of online tours that take them room by room using an interactive floor plan or an on-screen map. Museum-goers all around the world have long dreamt of the ability to pick up items and examine them closely. In order to realize that vision, the VR content creator Boulevard teamed up with the British VR Museum in London in 2017. They developed the Oculus Touch application “Two Million Years of History and Humanity, which lets users view and compare 48 museum artifacts. Users from all over the world could download the software for free.

Location-Based Museum VR Experience

Leading museums are leveraging the unlimited potential of VR software solutions to enhance the comprehension and interaction of their visitors. The VR exhibits will enhance, complement, or simply promote what is currently on display in the museum. Jurassic Flight at the Cincinnati Museum Center is a perfect example of a museum VR experience that can take you to worlds you can’t possibly visit or even imagine. Thanks to the Birdly VR platform, visitors can have a full-body experience at the dinosaur hall, including flying with dinosaurs as one of them.

Artists are Experimenting with VR Art Forms

VR allows artists experimenting with VR to design original and often fantasy environments and immensely artistic simulations for multisensory virtual immersion experiences. Technology is also evolving to aid these artists, like HTC Vive Arts, which is a multimillion-dollar initiative to revolutionize the way we create and interact with art. Art Basel and Google Arts & Culture jointly launched a VR art project in Hong Kong using Google Tilt Brush. Artists could create their works of art in 3D virtual space using Tilt Brush, which was released in April 2016. It has dynamic brushes (ink, smoke, snow, and fire), an interactive interface, and the ability to share them as bite-sized GIFs or room-scale experiences in addition to allowing users to walk around their creations.

Museums using VR as Exhibition Space

Museums are exploring the opportunity to make the art accessible to all and appreciate its beauty in a simulated space. For instance, the DSL Collection, established by collectors Dominique and Sylvain Levy, exhibits artwork through virtual reality. Museums, galleries, and cultural events are demonstrating their willingness to reach a wider audience and boost visitor numbers by offering innovative and distinctive VR art experiences.

Experience Personal Interaction

Learning about former presidents, well-known artists, ethnic groups, and extinct animal species during a museum visit can be dull and a wasted opportunity, especially with an uninteresting tour guide. Virtual reality (VR) technology could provide a breath of fresh air by allowing visitors to hear the story from the exhibits themselves, which would be both engaging and informative. VR allows museum goers to interact personally with people and other exhibits throughout history. A Bronze Age exhibit at the British Museum is one example of how people can connect with their surroundings and historical relics. Visitors are interacting with the museum exhibit using Samsung Gear VR headsets. When the session is over, visitors frequently applaud because they were so impacted by the exhibits.

Long story short

Some people may be concerned that the buzz surrounding VR technology will discourage museum visitors from attending in person. The president of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, Bruno David, previously told the New York Times that people come to a museum to see genuine artifacts because real objects are emotive. Virtual reality exhibitions are meant to enhance and supplement the current model rather than to completely replace it. With virtual reality, there are endless opportunities for museums to improve already-existing spaces, introduce fresh interactive features, improve knowledge sharing and storytelling, and exhibit historical and scientific elements with the finest authenticity.

Feel free to communicate with TA about any ideas you have that you would like to see realized for cultural, educational, or other purposes. From the inception of your prototype to the finished product, our qualified team of VR experts can help you and assist you with expert guidance and delivery.