\u2018Miracles of Evolution\u2019<\/em>, as she walks over. She sees a huge skeleton of a fin whale. \u201cIsn\u2019t it amazing?\u201d says Dr, Eva \u017d\u00e1\u010dkov\u00e1, a curator and researcher specialized in the digitization projects at the museum, while she is checking some of the features of the app from the museum. \u201cWe aim to make sure everyone can access and see our collections. With this digital technology, it allows us to share our heritage with people who might never have a chance to visit in person. And for the people that do visit in person, like you, we have something extra, because this fin whale can come to alive with the app, using augmented reality.\u201d, she shows Lauren the fin whale throughout the app, swimming and moving around. Lauren walks around the skeleton with her phone in the air. \u201cThe skeleton itself is already impressive, but it\u2019s really cool to see how it would have looked alive.\u201d Lauren says while smiling at the fin whale moving around on her screen.<\/p>\n[aesop_gallery id=”13175″ revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]<\/p>\n
With more than 300 researchers working on 38 projects this year to improve the museum, they are already quite far with implementing technology and use it to their advantage. Since the end of May, the National museum app is fully working and usable for the visitors, which is a big step for the museum to incorporate technology further and further. They use it mostly to enhance the visitor experience, for example; interactive exhibitions, augmented reality tours and virtual reality. Meanwhile, the building itself keeps its glory from the many centuries ago, which gives the whole museum a big contrast between old and new.<\/p>\n
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[aesop_quote type=”pull” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ align=”left” size=”1″ quote=”\u201cImpressive or changing the museum too much, that’s the question.\u201d” cite=”- Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus” parallax=”off” direction=”left” revealfx=”off”]<\/p>\n
Not everybody is as happy with this change, Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus, secretary for international relations and researcher for museums in Prague for over 20 years, thinks we should be careful, \u201cTechnology is a beautiful invention, but we should be careful that it doesn\u2019t take over our creativity. And I know a lot of people will say that technology helps them be more creative, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019re wrong, but we should really keep in mind the \u2018help\u2019 part and not let AI and such, do the job for us.\u201d While looking at the app of the National museum from Prague, he looks worried. \u201cThe app itself is working great, but I\u2019m thinking about the risk of losing the experience that comes with physically visiting a museum; the ambiance, the scale of the artifacts and the personal connection one feels, something that is hard to replicate digitally. And how can the youth really appreciate how things were back then, if we keep making it more interesting for them and not just keep it how it is.\u201d He closes off the app and opens a book about the National Museum, \u201cLook! Same information, I will always prefer it this way.\u201d, he lets his fingers slide over the paper and turns over to the next page.<\/p>\n
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[aesop_quote type=”pull” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ align=”left” size=”1″ quote=”"Not only for entertainment and knowledge.."” cite=”- Chantal Perlee” parallax=”off” direction=”left” revealfx=”off”]<\/p>\n
Dr, \u017d\u00e1\u010dkov\u00e1 also doesn\u2019t worry about people not visiting the museum because they have an app. She rather thinks that the app is a great way to get people interested about the museum and still make them wanting to go there. \u201cIn the app, there are some features you can only use when you are there in the museum. We also don\u2019t show everything from the museum and use some of the technology, we have been researching, in the museum itself, to improve the experience.\u201d She says while walking past some interactive parts of the museum where kids are learning about animals from around 300,000 years ago. She believes it\u2019s important to keep up with the time and that the museum keeps focus on the new generation. \u201cAt the end of the day, we have to look at the future, which is quite funny if you work with really old artifacts, but it\u2019s important that the museum finds a way to connect young and old. That way we stay relevant.\u201d She smiles at the kids who are touching the footprint of a mammoth, while the other kid looks at a video explaining the taxidermy practice of preparing this mammoth they\u2019re looking at.<\/p>\n
Sometimes museums don\u2019t use technology to only make sure the youth stays interested but also because some ancient artifacts can\u2019t be preserved forever. Some are effected by light, water or even just the air, then using technology to store those artifacts online forever, keeps the history alive. Chantal Perlee, in charge of preserving the collection at the Central museum in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and is skilled in Collection Management, Documentation and Archival Research, Art Research, Project Management and Visitor information Management, agrees that technology can indeed help in other ways, \u201cIn the last few years we put a lot of energy in making the collections online accessible, which was not only for the visitor a great improvement, also for the artifacts and documents themselves, some of them were hanging by a thread, literally and this way they can still be used for knowledge.\u201d She agrees that technology shouldn\u2019t be a replacement for actually visiting a museum, but that it can help a global audience to get in contact with this information with a click of a button.<\/p>\n
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While Lauren walks around the exhibitions, she sees an elevator to \u2018the V\u00e1clav Havel tunnel\u2019 and walks over curiously. \u201cWe call it \u2018The Tunnel of Time\u2019\u201d says a gallery supervisor that sees Lauren looking around. \u201cYou\u2019ll understand it in a second\u201d, the gallery supervisor walks off and Lauren descends in the elevator. The tunnel is empty and when walking in, the screen right and left from her start playing, a big dark low sound, like a bang, starts this experience and the screen shows the earth. A few more people walk in the tunnel and the reflection of the earth shows on their intrigued faces. On the screens the time goes all the way back to the very beginning and show the empty earth, while time passes, animals start showing up and it shows the whole process of life. This tunnel goes underground from the National Museum to the New building of the National Museum, it\u2019s a good example of the museum trying to bring old and new together. While the National museum shows the history of many years ago, the new building is mostly focused on the history of the 20th<\/sup> century. As Lauren reached the end of the tunnel, she walks in the more modern looking building, the security guard welcomes here, \u201cHow was the time travel?\u201d he jokes, but Lauren thinks that is a very accurate description of what you are supposed to feel when walking through the tunnel. The journey through the tunnel had vividly showcased the evolution of life on earth and the struggles that come with it, bridging the ancient with the contemporary.<\/p>\n[aesop_quote type=”pull” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ align=”left” size=”1″ quote=”"Every exhibit tells a story, inviting us to not just see history, but to feel it, understand it, and keep it alive for generations to come."” cite=”- Lauren Zola” parallax=”off” direction=”left” revealfx=”off”]<\/p>\n
As Lauren wandered into the modern building with these expansive windows, she reflected on her experience. The museum\u2019s commitment to using technology and digital innovations to preserve but also share its rich cultural heritage, was evident everywhere she looked. The blend of beautiful paintings, interactive exhibitions, taxidermy animals, augmented reality fin whales, gemstones and digital archives not only made the museum accessible to a global audience, but also enriched the physical visit to the museum. “With each step, I felt more connected to the stories of the past, the essence of discovery and wonder within these historical walls, that’s something that will always remain timeless.” says Lauren with a smile.<\/p>\n
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In Prague, museums are embracing digital technologies to show visitors their cultural heritage in a new way. The National museum in Prague has also been active to digitize their experience throughout virtual tours, online exhibitions and interactive resources. This way, people all around the world can experience the art, history and culture from wherever they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1926,"featured_media":13174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acls","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Echoes of history blending with digital innovation - International Journalism<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n