Hello. We are Realworld, a playable content platform. We've already shared news about how museums are gradually becoming more immersive through many previous examples. These 'immersive exhibitions' can now be easily found not only in art museums but also in museums beyond the traditional gallery space.
When we think of traditional exhibitions, the typical scene was visitors simply looking at artifacts neatly arranged in exhibition halls with their eyes only. However, we've now entered an era where exhibitions differentiate themselves through immersive experiences that captivate all five senses of visitors. So today, I'd like to introduce examples of exhibitions that are transforming into more vivid experiences through technological evolution.
Time travel to Pompeii, destroyed by volcanic eruption!
This is the National Museum of Australia located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. They're currently running an exhibition about Pompeii, the Roman city destroyed by volcanic eruption, showcasing various aspects of Pompeii through wall-to-wall displays. You might not see much difference from other exhibitions yet?
But suddenly, a thunderous roar echoes and Mount Vesuvius, which appeared as background scenery in the distance, erupts. Volcanic ash rapidly rushes in, covering everything, and the exhibition hall is plunged into darkness. Fortunately, it's not reality but a presentation using large displays, yet even knowing it's graphics, it's quite startling.
This Pompeii exhibition, running from December 2024 to May 2025, features this volcanic eruption event every 15 minutes. Visitors feel as if they've time-traveled to Pompeii 2,000 years ago, and thanks to the large-scale presentation that fills the space, audiences seem to become even more absorbed in the exhibition.
This is said to be the first Pompeii exhibition in Australia, and besides the Mount Vesuvius eruption event, over 90 artifacts are also displayed together. The combination of analog and digital experiences seems to create even greater immersion for visitors. I'd like to give applause to the staff who planned this exhibition.
Ancient Egyptian colors return after 2,000 years
Even if not in museums, you've probably seen Egyptian murals through movies or documentaries. Most of them would have appeared as hieroglyphs carved in stone without special coloring, but they were originally painted in vibrant colors when first created. While we're curious about their original appearance, painting colors over existing murals to restore them would raise concerns about cultural heritage destruction. How can we appreciate their original form without damaging cultural artifacts? Let's look at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's 2015 project 'Color The Temple'.
The Temple of Dendur, a representative artifact of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was originally built in the Nubian region of southern Egypt. When artifacts in this region faced submersion due to dam construction, the US government provided significant support to protect Nubian heritage, and the Egyptian government gifted the Temple of Dendur to the United States as a token of gratitude.
The Temple of Dendur, located along the Nile River, suffered flood damage over long periods and lost much of its color. As you can see in the photo, it has lost much of its original appearance. Then, in 2013, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art established its 'Media Lab' organization, attempts began to restore the Temple of Dendur's original colors. Researchers worked to find the original colors by searching Napoleonic-era publications and referencing the coloring of other temples from similar periods, and through projection mapping, they were able to provide visitors with a realistic presentation of that appearance.
Looking at recent visitor reviews, this projection mapping is still ongoing, and it seems meaningful as it can achieve educational goals while recreating the appearance of that time through technology integration. I'd like to visit when I'm in New York.
Playing escape room games in a museum?
What examples of immersive experience exhibitions that stimulate visitors' five senses exist in Korea? Can we implement them without spending large amounts on hardware like the examples mentioned above? It's possible with Realworld's solution that adds stories on top of existing spaces.
At the Handok Pharmaceutical Museum located in Eumseong, Chungbuk, you can experience Realworld content called 'Dr. H's Secret Note'. The Handok Pharmaceutical Museum, established in 1964 as a cultural project commemorating the 10th anniversary of Handok Co., Ltd. (formerly Handok Pharmaceutical), is Korea's first corporate museum and specialized museum. Since they introduced content in 2019 during Realworld's early days, it was quite a challenging attempt.
This 'Dr. H's Secret Note' is Korea's first escape room concept mystery game set in a museum. Participants discover a mysterious notebook at the Handok Pharmaceutical Museum and must explore the museum to find the miracle medicine left by the genius scientist Dr. H. By solving mysteries using pharmaceutical artifacts from around the world as clues, visitors can naturally gain knowledge about pharmaceutical artifacts while having fun.
And at the Future Technology Hall of the National Science Museum located in Daejeon Metropolitan City, Realworld's content 'Smart City Theft Case' is currently in operation. Visitors are given a mission to find the culprit who stole a Class 1 security material from the Smart City Research Institute, and these missions can only be solved by discovering clues hidden within the exhibits.
Thanks to this, visitors can move beyond visual exhibitions to perform various missions in the exhibition hall, enhancing their understanding of science and technology, and become more immersed in the exhibition through various immersive technologies such as AR (Augmented Reality) and web views. Additionally, participants who complete missions receive small souvenirs, so how about studying science and technology with children while enjoying mission games together?
'Smart City Theft Case' is operating for free at the National Science Museum's Future Technology Hall until December 31, 2025. (Closed every Monday, prior confirmation of operation status required)
Making exhibition experiences immersive too!
Looking at the cases so far, there's probably one movie that naturally comes to mind. The movie with the premise of museum exhibits coming to life - 'Night at the Museum!' I think about how realistic and fun it would be if museum artifacts or historical figures could talk to visitors and explain their eras.
With advancing robot and AI technology, I think such movie-like scenarios might appear before long. I hope that technological advancement will make exhibition experiences even more immersive. Realworld, which delivers playable experiences, will also strive to provide more immersive experiences in step with advancing technology. We'll work hard until the day when Realworld can be found anywhere across the country. Thank you.