The benefits of immersive extended reality (XR) technology in learning, both formal and informal, have been highlighted time and again with detailed studies. XR can affect the different stages of learning from the initial phases – curiosity as a stimulus – to the possibility to play a direct role in virtual settings. 

Moreover, XR potential impacts are extended by the capacity to build immersive scenarios to reenactment.

For instance, imagine a guided storytelling experience inspired from daily life in Classical Athens, following the activities of an Athenian family in their house. Then, out in the city as it was thousands of years ago.

In other words, through extended reality you can travel back in time and partake in an everyday life experience in antiquity. Likewise, you can experience how an Athenian home was created and how this unit brought to the “polis”.

Such an interactive multi-sensorial experience, combining historical accuracy, can enhance knowledge about the past and historical empathy.

A boundless list of possibilities with branching narratives, social adventures, treasure hunts, or historically-informed reenactments of events can be conceived and realised in XR environments.

BRIDGES project will explore how to build accurate XR scenarios from distinct historical eras, therefore demonstrating the ability of the proposed solution to utilise and map the same physical space while superimposing different virtual content and scenarios.

To sum up, as in “Night at the Museum” your visiting experience could be surprisingly interactive. After collecting needs, BRIDGES will test and pilot informal learning applications with “A day in Ancient Athens” at the Foundation of Hellenic World.

Images are Courtesy of the Foundation of the Hellenic World.