Virtual Field Trip of a Historic Property
We produced an interactive virtual field trip to allow more young learners to experience a local heritage house.
The Goal
The COVID-19 pandemic rocked the museum & historic sites industry, greatly impacting incumbent organizations' ability to facilitate indoor interactions with the public, such as open museum hours and field trips.
Historic Joy Kogawa House - a historic property in Vancouver - felt these impacts first hand. Rather than admitting defeat, the House brought us in to not only help combat these issues, but create a whole new set of opportunities to connect with global communities, educate students, and generate new revenue. We were tasked with the creation of an interactive tour geared towards young learners, teaching about Japanese-Canadian author Joy Kogawa's life, works, and experiences in her childhood home.
The Process
During production, we gathered a full set of immersive 360 photos within the home, several 360 videos in the front and back yards, and a series of cinematic drone photos and videos for use within the interactive experience.
After capturing all of the required media, Viscape coordinated with Historic Joy Kogawa House's board and education committee to develop engaging interactive touch points for the immersive experience. These included a variety of media (websites, text, photos, videos, and audio files), which came together in a comprehensive interactive experience that allows users to navigate around the property, explore the artifacts within it, and engage with embedded interactive elements to learn more.
The Result
All in all, the project was a lot of fun and a total success! The interactive field trip is now available online in the English language, and is being used to allow children from anywhere in the world to experience the important educational aspects of the property. A Japanese language translation is in the works.
Here's what Ann-Marie Metten, Executive Director of the Historic Joy Kogawa House, had to say about the project:
“Sometimes you don’t know what you need till someone calls up and offers it to you! That was the case with Viscape 360 Imaging and the interactive digital tour they developed for us! Viscape founder Phoenix Toomath knew that small museums such as ours would benefit from digital tour alternatives when in-person visits are limited due to the pandemic. Thank you, Viscape! We love the tours you developed for us and never could have done it without you!”
