The National Commission for Museums and Monuments in collaboration
with Dream Hive Ltd, is set to create digital museums for the nation’s
rich monuments, antiquities and heritage sites through Public-private
partnership.
The digital museum is a museum exhibition platform that utilises
computer, virtual reality gadgets and information technology, on which
cultural vestiges and historical collections can be preserved and
displayed in digital format.
Agreement for the
project tagged “Nigeria Virtual Heritage Project” was signed by the two
organisations at the NCMM headquarters in Abuja.
Mr Abdulkerim Oshioke Kadiri, Acting Director General of NCMM, who
signed on behalf of the commission, said the initiative was to bring
museums close to Nigerians and as well enable people round the world
access them.
“The world has gone digital, and is moving ahead, so will must move
on to enable Nigerians and people around the world visit our museums
using Headset gadgets, computers, and even their phones from their
homes.
“NCMM wants to put Nigerian museums on a top pedestrian in Africa
museums and globally, as our artifacts, monuments and heritage sites
are very rich and valued all over the world.
“We are partnering with Dream Hive, a private company that is
visiting all our museums in the thirty six states of the federation to
take digital images of our artifacts and monuments and natural heritage
sites.
“We are starting with Lagos, Asaba, Benin and others among the 48 museums across Nigeria,” he said.
Arch. Oladimeji Obimakinde, Chief Executive Officer of Dream Hive
Ltd, explained that the project will, among other things, help preserve
Nigeria’s rich history and cultural heritage for younger generation
who have gone digital.
He noted that many Nigerians seem to have little or no knowledge of
the nation’s monuments, museums and heritage sites, which has made
visits to these places declined over the years.
“This whole idea is geared towards first preserving our culture, and making it become an educational and entertainment tools.
“Our mandate is to preserve today for tomorrow, as we believe that
our past should be well captured and kept so that those coming tomorrow
can have access to it.
“The Nigeria Virtual Heritage Project is to capture all museums,
monuments and heritage sites with virtual reality, augmented reality and
mixed reality to enable people have access to them from any part of
the world.
“No matter how rich or poor you are, you can now take children on few
trips without them leaving their schools, and this makes it a very
useful educational tool,” he said.
Obimakinde further explained that the museums could also be recreated
in miniature forms for tourists, who can visit them from their home.
He added that “in case there is physical damage to these heritages,
they can be recreated because of this information we have in digital
forms.”
He explained that that Virtual Reality (VR) mechanism and headsets
would be mainly used in the Virtual Museum Virtual reality (VR) is a
simulated experience that
can be similar to or completely different from the real world, which can
be applied for entertainment and educational purposes.
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that
can be similar to or completely different from the real world, which can
be applied for entertainment and educational purposes.
Standard VR systems use either virtual reality headsets or
multi-projected environments to generate realistic images, sounds and
other sensations that simulate a user’s physical presence in a virtual
environment.
A person using virtual reality equipment is able to look around the
artificial world, move around in it, and interact with virtual features
or items.
The effect is commonly created by VR headsets consisting of a
head-mounted display with a small screen in front of the eyes, but can
also be created through specially designed rooms with multiple large
screens