Visitors to the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology can explore lifelike marine environments and interact with shipwrecks and marine life by donning a headset and controller in a new virtual-reality (VR) exhibition.
The museum houses artifacts from the Cenozoic Era’s Quaternary Period, it said, adding that visitors can have a VR experience of performing the archeological work to recover such artifacts.
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) attended the exhibit’s opening on Sunday, donning a VR headset and testing the software himself.
“Shihsanhang is more than a museum — it is an educational institution,” Chu said.
The museum has a tradition of incorporating technology into its exhibits, using photography and film for previous exhibitions, Chu said.
Academia Sinica researcher Tsang Cheng-hwa (臧振華) said that Taiwan has an abundance of sea resources and underwater ruins, citing the discovery of 10 shipwrecks in the nation’s waters and numerous pillboxes.
Tsang said that underwater relics can reveal a lot about past civilizations, such as shipbuilding techniques and contemporary regional trade.
Taiwan Underwater Archeology Association president Huang Han-yung (黃漢勇) praised the exhibit for giving the general public a chance to experience underwater archeology, which in real-world conditions requires specialized equipment and training.
Huang said that underwater archeology is physically exhausting, because divers cannot be submerged too long because of water pressure.
The exhibit has visitors virtually walk on the deck of a sunken ship and take in 360o views of the ocean floor, adding that users can interact with marine life such as whales and fish that are endemic to Taiwan.
“It is just like being on the ocean floor,” Huang said.
The museum said users can also experience ocean environments in its 14m “ocean floor tunnel,” which simulates an ocean environment through projections.
Its most unique exhibit is its fossil collection, which houses samples taken from the waters around Penghu, the museum said.
Museum director Chen Chun-lan (陳春蘭) said promotion of underwater archeology has been one the Ministry of Culture’s goals in recent years, adding that the museum has contributed to the effort by integrating artifacts, technology and film into interactive exhibits.
“The museum plans to regularly update its displays and give visitors the chance to experience the magnificence of underwater archeology at any time,” Chen said.
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