Page 261 - AC/E's Digital Culture Annual Report 2015

AC/E Digital Culture Annual Report 2015261shoulder-to-shoulder with architects, engineers, historians, sculptors, computer developers and other professionals.Another 3D project related to the same civilisa- tion was carried out by University College London for the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in the same city. The project115 involved recreating a whole series of objects from the museum in a visual timeline so that visitors can interact with them online, observe them and handle them in the same way that a researcher or curator does. Thanks to 3D explo- ration technology, web users can thus move the objects virtually, turn them and examine them at length using a zoom function that allows them to see details that they would not be able to in the museum.116real object in front of them affords 3D technol- ogy a very high experiential value. This approach encourages visitors to the museum, even if online, to take part and become more involved in what they want to see or learn about, asit goes much further than merely supplying information and allowing holdings to be viewed from a distance.From an educational perspective, learning can be boosted, just as being able to see the objects from all angles and in full detail can arouse greater interest among students and researchers. Such is the case of the British Museum, in association with Samsung,117 which created several educational activities based on 2D and 3D technology also in relation to the pieces from ancient Egypt in the museum’s collections.One of them, called Talk like an Egyptian118, invited children to put themselves in the place of various Egyptian people featured in the collection together with 2D computer pro- grammes and microphones to bring them to life. Also using 3D, they recreated figures and pieces from the collection, especially amulets, which were later printed, and the children were invited to design their own amulets that could also be printed in 3D.In mid-November 2014, the British Museum went one step further by putting fourteen pieces from its collection online, mostly from Ancient Egypt, in freely downloadable 3D format under a Creative Commons licence. This means that anyone can print their own 3D models of sculptures such as the Head of Zeus, the seated figure of Amenhotep III and the god Horus in the form of a falcon, or else use images freely forIf we consider that museums’ holdings are protected behind glass cases – as is only logi- cal – this way of recreating unique pieces and allowing users to study them as if they had the3. Technology associated with the actual visit