Verein Haus der Natur - Museum of Nature and Technology
challenge
It even exists as an emoticon (🦤) - the dodo. The clumsy-looking, flightless giant bird is still fascinating today. Unfortunately, it was already extinct barely 100 years after its discovery.
Today, there are only a few partially preserved skeletons of the giant dove left in the world. The Haus der Natur Salzburg has one of them, which was recently scanned in its entirety in a computer tomograph. To give museum visitors the opportunity to virtually explore this unique exhibit and learn more about this amazing animal, we have developed an interactive 3D application.
Content
In the Haus der Natur - Salzburg's most popular museum - nature is shown from its most exciting side on over 7,000 m². As part of the special exhibition "Birds", in which the wonderful works of artist Nikola Irmer can be seen, the dodo is of course not to be missed. In addition to the original skeleton of the bird, our 3D touch application offers a wealth of additional information and multimedia content.
Data preparation
An unusual patient
The scan of the dodo skeleton with the computer tomograph at the Salzburg Landesklinik provided very detailed and therefore extensive data sets. The data is also available in a volumetric format: They contain the entire volume of the scanned area. This makes it possible, for example, to view the inside of bones. What is essential in medicine would not be advantageous for an interactive real-time display of the scan. For this reason, a surface model was created in a first step. Supporting and interfering elements then had to be removed. Finally, the number of polygons required was optimised.
Implementation
Spatial navigation
The information architecture consists of two parts: Hot spots directly on the skeleton provide visitors with brief contextualised additional information. In addition, detailed information as well as graphics and photos on various aspects of the dodo can be called up on six detailed pages. In order not to disturb the effect of the central model of the dodo skeleton, a classic menu for the detail pages was dispensed with. Instead, the user can navigate to the detail pages via windows that are arranged spatially around the skeleton.
Outcome
Part of the overall picture
The design of the application had to fit harmoniously into the overall picture of the special exhibition. The use of painterly textures and abstract brushstrokes gives the application a handmade look. Colours and fonts were coordinated with the graphic design of the exhibition and complete the picture.
This interactive 3D application enriches the exhibition with in-depth information in an entertaining way. Our high standards of design and performance guarantee the visitor a captivating experience.
