To celebrate the theme of International Museum Day 2018 ― "Hyperconnected Museums: New Approaches, New Publics" ― the National Museum of Prehistory is launching a virtual reality tour titled "A New Look at Old Bones."
"A New Look at Old Bones" incorporates 16 new interactive exhibits into one thematic tour, providing a novel and entertaining itinerary that presents the technological and vibrant side of the museum. The tour is "led" by the Bones family, an animated skeletal clan that helps modern visitors get reacquainted with the prehistoric way of life, including farming with simple tools and making pottery by hand.
The National Museum of Prehistory launched its "Smart Museum" project in 2016, and in the two years since has completed 16 different exhibition systems using technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and Kinect motion sensors. Through these 16 immersive experiences, visitors can use technology to better understand the prehistory of Taiwan:
1. 3D projection of the birth of Taiwan Island
2. Models of Formosan mammals equipped with sound recordings
3. Interactive exhibit of Taiwan's mid-altitude cloud forests
4. The distinctive architecture of Taiwan's 16 aboriginal tribes
5. Interactive exhibition of Taiwanese aboriginal facial tattoos
6. Digital projection of the Eight Immortals Cave
7. Interactive game: Becoming a prehistoric person on camera
8. Interactive game: Sending letters to prehistoric people
9. Interactive video of prehistoric landscapes
10. Interactive display of prehistoric relics
11. Storytelling by 3D skeletons
12. Interactive puzzles about prehistory
13. Voice-activated interactive graffiti
14. A "time tunnel" of prehistoric artifacts
15. Interactive map of Austronesian cultures
16. Digital exhibition of aboriginal music
Also, to uphold a museum's role in servicing its community and promoting cultural engagement, the National Museum of Prehistory will also work with the Taitung Foreign Spouses Association and hold a two-month program spotlighting Southeast Asian cultures from May through June.
Curated by new immigrants living in Taitung, these events shall include making Indonesian batik dye, cooking Thai seafood pho and rice ball desserts, assembling Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches, making Chinese shadow puppets with paper and leather, and reading Southeast Asian picture books.
The Taichung-based prehistory museum will offer free entry all day on May 18 to celebrate International Museum Day.