‘Alternate worlds’ hold key to the future of museums

Young people are having a whale of a time learning about marine science, thanks to a tech sensory show, but let’s dive deeper into the potential.

The ArtScience Museum's Sensory Odyssey show relies on the latest technology and science to create an immersive visitor experience ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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Taking in the smells of wet earth and ocean spray, the ArtScience Museum’s just-opened exhibition on nature and biodiversity is about as far as you can imagine from the traditional idea of museums as rarefied places where you wander around artefacts behind glass cases.

Instead, the museum’s Sensory Odyssey show relies on the latest technology and science to create an immersive visitor experience, with high-definition video footage of creatures great and small – from sperm whales to honeybees. Spatial audio and specially created scents transport visitors into unique ecosystems, from the Indian Ocean to the African savannah.

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