Digital heritage interpretation: online study session for heritage & culture professionals

SEMFed events are an opportunity for those working in heritage in the south and east of England to share their knowledge and support each other.

For this session we will be joined by team members from four different organisations from our region and beyond to share their experiences of developing and maintaining digital interpretation on their sites.

We will be hearing about:

878 AD Experience in Winchester

What we are learning from using AR and gaming to bring history to life

In November 2022, Hampshire Cultural Trust opened the first heritage attraction that is a full collaboration between an Accredited museum, a computer gaming company and an AR app developer. Find out from Jaane Rowehl, Director of Programme and Collections, and James Tier, the General Manager, what the team are learning about developing and running such an innovative venture.

Digital Interpretation at Colchester Castle: Insights, Longevity, and Looking Ahead

Digital Officer Kate Burton from Colchester and Ipswich Museums presents a review of the augmented reality (AR) initiative introduced in 2014. Utilising visitor feedback and empirical usage data from 2019-2021, this presentation examines the long-term effectiveness and sustainability of digital interpretive technologies in museum contexts. Insights into methodological challenges, data collection practices, and the potential for future digital interpretive strategies will be discussed.

Royal Palace Reborn – Approaches to incorporating digital interpretation into a 12^th century castle

The HLF-funded restoration project of Norwich Castle has presented an exciting opportunity for reinterpreting the building itself and medieval collections of the Norfolk Museum Service. In addition to re-establishing the historic spaces in the principal floor and the creation of a new British Museum Partnership Gallery, the incorporation of a range of digital interpretation approaches was a key goal of the project, to engage a range of audiences and learning styles with the narratives and stories held within the collections. This talk briefly touches on the different processes and outcomes in developing the digital features within the new museum.

Glastonbury Stories

Nick Phillips, Executive Administrator from Glastonbury Abbey, speaks on the Glastonbury Stories project which led to the creation of the Glastonbury Abbey Stories app which launched in Spring 2023. The app uses augmented reality combining digital imagery and the world around us to create portals to the past, and bring archaeological research into the hands of the public.

There will be time for questions and discussion.

Attendance is free for SEMFed members. If you are not already a member, you can either take out membership for £10 for 12 months, or join us as a guest for £3.

Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash