Interactive 3D Exhibits and Mixed Reality Experiences (Concept Exploration)

Note – this is an exploratory idea.  We believe this will likely be feasible but it needs exploration.

The Upham Trust has already identified a virtual museum experience as a strategic initiative. A potential future enhancement is the addition of interactive 3D exhibits and mixed reality experiences within that virtual environment.

Under this concept, visitors navigating the virtual museum could select an exhibit and launch an interactive 3D representation of the artefact. Users could rotate, zoom, and examine the item from multiple angles while accessing supporting historical content, photographs, video, oral histories, and interpretive information.

The experience could move beyond simply viewing exhibits and instead allow visitors to engage with artefacts as digital objects within a richer online environment. This may include layered content, interactive storytelling, historical context, and connections between exhibits, creating a more immersive and engaging experience for visitors.

These concepts align strongly with the Trust's vision of creating interactive and immersive experiences that encourage active exploration of New Zealand's military history rather than passive consumption of information.

At this stage, the virtual museum component is already planned. The extension into interactive 3D exhibits and mixed reality experiences represents a future opportunity that warrants further investigation.

Areas for exploration include:

  • Interactive 3D exhibit technologies
  • Digital asset creation and management
  • 3D scanning and modelling requirements
  • Mixed reality presentation techniques
  • User experience design
  • Mobile and desktop compatibility
  • Integration with the virtual museum environment
  • Development effort and ongoing maintenance requirements

The objective is to determine whether these technologies can further enhance the Trust's virtual museum experience and provide new ways for visitors to engage with exhibits, stories, and historical collections online.