Experience The Met Virtually: Take a VR Tour
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Launches Immersive Virtual Reality Exhibitions
Today, November 10, the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled two pioneering digital exhibitions that invite visitors to engage with its revered collections through virtual reality. This new initiative allows art enthusiasts to explore the museum’s iconic galleries from the comfort of their homes, using either a VR headset or a standard computer.
The museum’s selection includes the 1st-century BCE Egyptian Temple of Dendur and a curated collection of Oceanic artworks featured in the newly revamped Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. These virtual exhibits, “Dendur Decoded” and “Oceania: A New Horizon of Space and Time,” provide a unique blend of educational content and interactive experiences, resembling video-game-style missions.
Developed in partnership with Atopia, a virtual reality platform centered on cultural experiences, these programs were crafted from detailed three-dimensional scans captured within the museum’s spaces. The Temple of Dendur experience, shaped with insights from The Met’s Curator of Egyptian Art Isabel Stünkel, features engaging activities like reconstructing the structure digitally to mirror the conservational efforts of the 1970s. Users of this virtual tour can also leave voice notes after traversing the 150 newly unveiled images and videos sourced from UNESCO and museum archives.
The Oceanic gallery experience, designed with the expertise of The Met’s Curator for Arts of Oceania Maia Nuku, transports users to a digitally lush environment where encountering art becomes an explorative mission. Participants aim to discover significant objects, such as the “Female Ancestor Figure” and the “Ceremonial House Ceiling,” which are revealed through a captivating narrative alongside visual displays.
With this digital iteration, The Met responds to the increasing demand for accessible cultural experiences worldwide. By launching this platform with Atopia, it sets the stage for other cultural institutions to develop and share similar virtual experiences effortlessly. The Met’s Director and CEO, Max Hollein, emphasizes the power of these programs to deliver unparalleled cultural engagement across global audiences, further solidifying the museum’s commitment to innovative and inclusive storytelling in the arts.