AMUSE: Accessible and Visualised Museum Collections
Exhibits tell us stories about how our nation, our communities and our cultures came to be and without them, those stories could be forgotten. Museums serve our communities in a multitude of ways. For centuries, museums have played an integral role in preserving the history of our society. The collections within a museum are a significant resource to the community.
Behind the scenes, museums are conducting important research on the objects and artifacts in their collections. Not only do personnel at the museum conduct research, but museums may also partner with outside entities such as universities so that researchers, graduate students, and professors have the opportunity to utilize their collection. There is a vast need for updating high education curricula in cultural heritage and archeology particularly in the manner of presentation. This can be done by using e-learning platforms that allow multiple views of museum artefacts and museum collections. General curriculum objectives must be the same for all students, but we need to make adaptations and accommodations of the learning environments. The need for supporting inclusion is further accentuated in the areas where curriculums are inflexible considering general characteristics of the students. Adaptations and accessibility formats must be made for persons with disabilities.
The progress and preservation of society depends on our museums; so, the need to increase the attendance and increase the access to museums by different groups has been proven as extensive. In our rapidly digitalizing society, one must find alternative ways to bring the museum content (and with that, the cultural heritage of the people) closer to the public. Many factors like pandemics or disasters of another kind may become barriers to visiting museums or a reason for losing valuable artifacts. With virtual tours, anyone can visit the museum anytime. This format does not have a physical place and is open at any time. It allows anyone to visit a museum, extending its visitor base. Virtual tours are much safer for both exhibits and visitors, and in addition, they offer affordable education. Museums often have challenges in showing up ancient artifacts, as they usually require specific conditions to keep their integrity. Fortunately, digitizing artifacts allows both keeping them in safe places and showing everything in virtual reality. A physical museum strictly forbids visitors to interact with historical relics and artifacts; in contrast, virtual tours allow visitors to interact with exhibits differently, like rotating them or making them alive.
To summarize, the AMUSE project will address the following:
– The need for digitalization and preservation of museum collections and preservation of cultural heritage;
– The need for educational and social inclusion of persons with disabilities;
– The need for creation of new accessible platforms with different modules of presentation of content;
– The need for an update of University curricula.
Digitization of museum collections and resources is the process of developing digital representation of analogue objects. Creating a digital copy of the assets of the museum with the latest imaging techniques makes it possible to precisely digitize objects and their surroundings. Museums are increasingly going digital in order to preserve their collections. For museums, digitization leads to enhanced visitor experience, opens up access to collections, increases research opportunities and preserves knowledge when physical assets are threatened by handling or need high levels of security. Over the past twenty years, this process has become increasingly cost-effective. Digitization can serve to re-integrate the museum with its library, to bring together the object and the knowledge about the object, and therefore to enhance both the access to, and the appreciation of, our cultural heritage. Digital technology within this project will provide an amazing opportunity for museums by allowing them to exist in a variety of forms that correspond to the needs of different visitors, to engage with new audiences and, above all, to forge relationships that can be far more meaningful than traditional museum visits.
For the museums’ internal work, photogrammetry has many potential areas of use. It could be used by conservators for documentation of objects on loan, creating a better understanding for an object’s condition and possible damage.
Photogrammetry is a great pedagogical tool when giving lectures. The applications of photogrammetry in heritage within this project will be many. It will be used for both documentation and interpretation applications that are aided by the fast creation of 3D models. It will be applied to all scales of tangible heritage, from small objects or artefacts, to full archaeological or architectural sites. 3D models will be the basis for interactive interpretation models, 3D reproductions, architectural drawings or topographical maps, among other uses.
Gamification is using concepts of game design and play to boost participation, motivation and engagement of learners. Although the principles of games are incorporated in the learning process, the end goal is always learning itself. With games students willhave more incentives to participate and pay more attention to the lectures. Museum officials will use principles related to game design to enhance museum visitation and help young people master the material more efficiently.
Virtual tours will allow visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. 2,500 world-class museums and galleries are now offering virtual tours and online collections. The virtual museum concept gives us incredible opportunities to explore the world, its history, and culture, broadening our horizons without limitations of time or location. In addition, it will allow museums to extend their audience and make more people’s lives better.
In that context, the objectives of the project include:
– Scanning and photogrammetry of museum collections (up to six museums will be upgraded to virtual collections and 3D tours).
– Creation of a three-dimensional digital data base of museum artefacts (completed with text, narration, photographs, videos).
– Creation of a gamified platform with a virtual digital data-base of museum elements.
– Creation of Virtual Museum Tours accessible to all.
– Updating University Curricula and non-formal courses in Digital Archeology.
The project activities embody:
– Four work packages (Project Management; Gamified platform for accessible museums with inclusive virtual tours; Updating University Curricula and creation of non-formal courses in Digital Archeology; Dissemination events for stakeholders)
– Three multiplier events for result dissemination and sustainability.
The project results & other outcomes we expect our project to have include:
– Digitalized artefacts from six museums.
– Created inclusive virtual tours.
– Created gamified platform for accessible museums.
– Created accessibility plug-ins for the platform (for blind, deaf, dyslexics).
– Developed innovative curriculum for digital archeology (UCDA) comprised of 6 unit plans.
– Developed innovative non-formal course for digital archeology (NFCDA) comprised of 6 unit plans.
– Trained HEI students and adults (with and without disabilities) in Digital Archeology.
By making museums and museum collections accessible we are directly focusing on the horizontal priority – inclusion and diversity in all fields. The above-mentioned collections will be made accessible to persons with all types of disabilities. Hence, they will have equal opportunities to enjoy and learn about their own cultural and archeological heritage. By digitizing all archeological and cultural heritage artefacts and objects, and gamifying that content, we are preserving them and making them virtually available to all, thus improving digital readiness and capacity. Lastly the newly created platform with enable new digital ways in which we teach our University students. Students will be able to thoroughly explore all artefacts in their virtual learning areas.
