The collaboration between the two organisations aims to transform cultural experiences inside and outside the museum by using the latest technology. As technological collaborator, Samsung provides mobile devices and virtual reality technology to enrich visitor experiences.
"Living in..." offers visitors a virtual journey through the history of Spain
The initial project designed has been the application Vivir en... (Living in...), which adapts a variety of pieces and archaeological content to a virtual reality experience, allowing visitors to experience the sensation of walking along the streets and entering the homes of our ancestors.
The experience includes five scenarios of the History of Spain (Prehistory, Protohistory, Roman Hispania, the Middle Ages and the Modern Age), which form part of the permanent exhibition. With the explanations offered by a virtual guide, an archaeologist of the 21st century who accompanies the public on this trip through time, visitors pass through spaces such as the caves inhabited in the Palaeolithic period, the streets of a Celtiberian village, the forum of a city in Roman Hispania, a market from the age of the caliphates and a home from the Golden Age. The virtual journey has been designed with the scientific input from the museum's team.
To ensure visitors enjoy this experience to the full and discover more about the past, each of the museum's rooms corresponding to each historical scenario will have a station with Gear VR goggles, a Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone and headphones available.
The new virtual reality experience in the National Archaeological Museum is the work of the director Magoga Piñas Azpitarte, a specialist in historical digital recreation and animation. She has worked on major exhibitions, audiovisual productions and film projects such as the HBO's Game of Thrones, National Geographic's Cosmos, a Spacetime Odyssey, Juan Antonio Bayona's The Impossible, and Alejandro Amenábar's Agora.
Scheduled for this autumn is the launch of a multi-platform virtual visit, accessible via smartphone, tablet or computer, which will allow users from around the world to visit the rooms of the National Archaeological Museum remotely. It is one of the most ambitious projects included in the collaboration between Samsung and the Museum, given the large number and value of the pieces in the collection.
Video wall and tablets with a multimedia guide
The agreement between the National Archaeological Museum and Samsung includes the installation of a large video wall in the museum's main lobby, made up of 12 LED panels with the company's most advanced visual display technology. At the same time, Samsung has supplied 80 new tablets to the museum for use as multimedia guides for the visitors.
The Samsung Smart School citizens' programme, implemented in 32 educational centres across Spain, will also organise roadshows and special actions in schools to make students aware of the heritage housed by the National Archaeological Museum.
An institution with 150 years of history
The National Archaeological Museum was founded in 1867 by Isabel II with the aim of preserving the cultural heritage and bringing a rigorous and attractive interpretation of the history of Spain to the public. This institution receives hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, giving them the possibility of discovering the cultural legacy of the peoples of Spain and of the whole Mediterranean arc, from Antiquity to recent times through a great variety of objects and testimonies from the past.
Following a complete architectural overhaul and museographical renewal of its exhibition rooms from 2008 to 2013, the museum reopened its doors on 1 April 2014. The renewal has included the incorporation of new technical media to enhance the value of the collections and the permanent exhibition, such as the digital devices and contents now provided by Samsung.
Ministerio Educación, Cultura y Deporte