Project Description

In the Spring of 2020, the VAR Lab teamed up with the Hagen History Center to bring the past to life through five interactive exhibits. The VAR Lab’s team included Dr. Chris Shelton, Marcus Jacobs, Lauren Cass, and Justin Williams. They focused on creating a unique and engaging experience for visitors to the museum. 

Exhibit 3.01, the 1890s Kitchen, allows visitors to explore an 1890s household, complete with an interactive recipe featuring twenty steps for audience interaction. Exhibit 3.02 The Immigrant Neighborhoods exhibit features a brand-new interactive map interface. The map allows the audience to select different regions of Erie and see where particular immigrant groups settled in the city. Exhibit 3.03, the 1950s Kitchen, takes visitors on a journey to the 1950s, showcasing a household from that era. Exhibit 3.03 also showcases its own interactive recipe from the 1950s with about twenty steps.  

In addition to these exhibits, the VAR Lab also created a standalone virtual tour consisting of thirty-five 3D 360° panoramas of the Battles Memorial Museum (Standalone Walkthrough – The White House @ Battles Memorial Museum). This tour features eleven AR-accessible 3D models that can be pulled up on a patron’s phone, allowing them to visually interact within the museum space. 

The team also reimagined and remastered the original Perry Telescope exhibit, which was completed by the VAR Lab in 2021. This exhibit features ten newly created 3D models of historically relevant artifacts from the Hagen History Center’s archive. 

Visitors to the Hagen History Center in downtown Erie can now see the VAR Lab’s work on display in the “Story of Us” exhibit. From exploring an 1890s household to experiencing a 1950s neighborhood, the VAR Lab has brought history to life through their interactive exhibits. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to step back in time and immerse yourself in the stories of the past. 

View more detail about each exhibit below.

    1. A Virtual Perspective of the Perry Telescope
      • This immersive experience includes multiple features such as a ship spotting game, a 3D model of Oliver Hazard Perry’s telescope, and photo galleries with additional information. Using structured light scanning, the VAR team has built a 3D model of the telescope itself as well as virtual materials to offer an immersive, digital learning experience. The materials include historical documents, artistic depictions of the Battle of Lake Erie, and Oliver Perry’s portraits. The ship spotting game allows the user to step into Perry’s shoes and catch a glimpse of historical ships from the Battle of lake Erie. When the ship is spotted information about said ship will be displayed.

      perry telescope

       

    2. Exploration of an 1890’s Household
      • This immersive experience includes features such an immersive 3D tour of an 1890s household, 3D models of objects that would have been in the household in the 1890s, and a immersive experience where you can prepare an authentic recipe from that time. Each of these features were designed and created by our student researchers. The 3D virtual tour consists of 18 rooms. it was created by taking multiple 360 images and attaching them together to make one united tour. The 3D models were created by using our 3D scanners. Each model took multiple hours to scan and perfect. The interactive recipe was created by performing each step in the recipe and taking tons of 360 photos. then through tons of editing they are put together to create the final product.

      1890s household

       

    3. Exploration of an 1950’s Household
      • This immersive experience includes features such an immersive 3D tour of an 1950s household, 3D models of objects that would have been in the household in the 1950s, and a immersive experience where you can prepare an authentic recipe from that time. Each of these features were designed and created by our student researchers. The 3D virtual tour consists of 17 rooms. it was created by taking multiple 360 images and attaching them together to make one united tour. The 3D models were created by using our 3D scanners. Each model took multiple hours to scan and perfect. The interactive recipe was created by performing each step in the recipe and taking tons of 360 photos. then through tons of editing they are put together to create the final product.

      1950s

    4. Exploration of Immigration into Erie
      • This immersive experienceincludes features such as an interactive map, information boxes that highlight points of interest, and a photo gallery. The interactive map shows where certain cultural neighborhoods reside in Erie. The map features these by highlighting the spaces on the map where the different ethnicities first resided in Erie. The photo gallery consisted of photos of various including photos of churches, businesses, social meeting spaces, additional maps, and Erie landscapes.

      neighborhoods