American Museum of National History Brings the T-Rex to Life in VR

Thursday, March 7, 2019

Visitors encounter a massive animated projection of a t. rex and its offspring in a late cretaceous setting. the huge dinosaur will react to visitors, leaving them to wonder, ‘did that t. rex see me?’ image © AMNH /r. mickens

VR Technology can unlock many different use cases in the coming years. For the American Museum of Natural History, bringing dinosaurs back to life is an option worth exploring. Through the “T. Rex: The Ultimate Predator” exhibition, the museum will give visitors a chance to get up close and personal with this majestic creature.

Meeting a T-Rex in Virtual Reality

Although most people would love to see a dinosaur in the real world, chances of that ever happening are slim to none. That is, assuming no one tries to recreate Jurassic Park or Jurassic World in real life over the coming decades. Thankfully, it seems the American Museum of Natural History is offering a viable alternative. Their new exhibition will focus on the Tyrannosaurus rex, which can be met in VR.

This new exhibition will serve as an educational tool in the future. Viewers can learn more about this creature, both as an adult version or when they grow up. There is a lot most people do not know about the T. rex, other than how frightening it looks. At the same time, this was an apex predator, thus it is only normal the adult-sized version isn’t too cuddly. Its hatchling version, however, is a different matter altogether.

This VR exhibition will also provide viewers with the most realistic and scientifically accurate representation of the T. rex to date. There will be an option to interact with fossils and casts. Additionally, the museum will offer a multiplayer VR experience, which is made possible thanks to the help of the HTC Vive team. Up to three individuals will team up to build a T. rex fossil bone by bone in virtual reality.

It is not the first time virtual reality will serve as an educational tool either. Numerous options are being explored in this regard. Giving museum visitors an option to engage with the subject matter at hand is a big step in the right direction. When bringing history and knowledge to life, virtual reality can offer many opportunities to look into. An at-home version of this T. rex exhibition will launch on Viveport during the Summer of 2019.

Source: https://thevrsoldier.com