From Victorian collections to Virtual Museum

The University of Adelaide’s Tate Museum has unveiled a new virtual reality exhibition that can be enjoyed by anyone with a VR headset.

This project showcases the rare and unique collections cared for by the University and has been made possible through the expertise of students working with senior lecturer Steven Cook within the Virtual Reality Design and Development courses (Department of Media, School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts).

Immersive media, such as virtual, mixed and augmented reality is changing the way the world delivers and consumes content—both for entertainment and learning. The University’s collections are a vibrant and unique resource for students, staff and the broader community and creative digital experiences, such as this one, can help unlock their full potential.

This virtual display highlights the collections of the Tate Museum, one of the most remarkable University earth science museums in Australia. Named after Professor Ralph Tate, foundation Elder Professor of Natural Sciences from 1875-1901, the Tate Museum can be found in the Mawson Laboratories on the University's North Terrace Campus. Exhibitions Coordinator Amy Dale says “when I started working for the University of Adelaide in 2019, I was astonished to discover how significant the Tate Museum is to the history of South Australia and the development of higher education in the State. Although the museum is open to the public, it is not as easily discoverable as we would like it to be. It’s been fantastic to work with talented students from the Immersive media course and pursue new avenues for getting our collections out there for people to enjoy. Digital experiences like this are certainly going to be a key part of our exhibitions program going forward”. 

About the project:

This project, developed by Amy Dale, Exhibitions Coordinator and Steven Cook, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities, with Tristan Castle, Jordan English, Ethan Schoemaker and Callum Smith. The Tate Museum is presented and managed by the University of Adelaide’s University Library SpARK (Special Collections, Archives and Record Keeping) team and the Department of Earth Sciences. Members of the public are encouraged to visit the Tate Museum during business hours (9.00am-5.00pm) Monday to Friday.

For more information about developing Virtual, Mixed, and Augmented Reality projects, and the Immersive Media Technologies programs running within the Faculty of Arts, as well as an opportunity to try the new virtual reality exhibition, please contact: steve.cook@adelaide.edu.au 

For more information about the Tate Museum and the unique collections at the University of Adelaide please contact:
T: +61 8 8313 5334
Email: spark.collections@adelaide.edu.au