Pavia, 30 Settembre, 2022 –
Way Experience, VIS and Pavia University’s Sistema Museale d’Ateneo, with the support of partner SEA Vision, present the European premiere of You Are Darwin. The exhibition, a new immersive journey through Charles Darwin’s eyes combining virtual reality and live experience, will be open to the public from 2 October 2022 at the Kosmos Museum in Pavia.
The You Are Darwin project was placed high in the Bando InnovaMusei rankings. Kosmos, Way, ADMaiora, Toontaun and VIS have therefore joined forces to create a first large multimedia storytelling project to showcase the Sistema Museale’s collections, created with the contribution of InnovaMusei – Lombardy Region, Unioncamere Lombardia, Fondazione Cariplo and with the support of the Municipality of Pavia. The focus of the call for applications is to promote the adoption of innovative ideas and practices – also supported by digital – in the field of museum use and cultural heritage narration.
The nature of the exhibition installation is both emotional and technological, changing how a Natural History Museum like Kosmos is perceived and experienced. The real innovation is the hybrid nature of the exhibition, which allows you to experience Virtual Reality while moving in a real space. For the first time, it will be possible to observe the Museum’s collections in person while virtually immersing yourself in the environments that allowed the great English naturalist to formulate his evolutionary theory of natural selection. The whole tour will take place within the exhibition route of the Kosmos Museum in Pavia.
A unique Virtual Reality journey
Charles Darwin, aged 22, made a voyage around the world aboard the HMS Beagle brig. The findings of his observations formed the basis of the theory on the origin of species that he spent the rest of his life developing. The Virtual Reality Experience will allow you to travel with Darwin to some of the places visited by the English naturalist to understand and relive his discoveries. The narrator and guide is Darwin himself: his words are loosely taken from his most famous writings. The experience will be conducted by a scientific guide from ADMaiora, who will lead visitors along the museum’s exhibition route, creating a hybrid itinerary that combines a guided tour with immersive Virtual Reality experiences.
The stages of evolutionary theory
In the first stage, visitors will encounter the illuminated desk in Darwin’s Down House studio. Darwin recounts his life, his ideas and his voyage on the Beagle, presenting the route the visitor is about to take.
In the second VR scene, Darwin describes the lush Brazilian forest: the plants form dense, compact vegetation, the light is low, filtered through the foliage. Surrounded by all sorts of living things, visitors discover the wonders of the unspoilt habitat of the Amazon rainforest. What did Darwin notice when observing plants, flowers, hummingbirds and parrots?
The third stop is the Argentine Pampas, where Darwin had to use his knowledge as a geologist to interpret the world around him. Here you can observe cliffs, geological layers, the results of earthquakes and fossils: the transformation of the Earth is the true prerequisite for the evolution of species.
In the last stop, visitors end up on the volcanic beach of one of the islands of the Galapagos, surrounded by penguins, iguanas, tortoises, and sea lions, to witness the birth of the theory of evolution.
“After Looking for Monna Lisa in 2019, which explored Leonardo da Vinci’s connection to the city of Pavia, we are back to sponsor an interactive exhibition promoted by WAY Experience and Pavia’s local institutions,” comments Luigi Carrioli, chairman of SEA Vision. “You Are Darwin combines art and science and communicates them to a young audience, which forms a large part of our workforce and which is a target group we are particularly interested in. Our headquarters in Via Treves, with its permanent art installations, is a bridge between two different worlds – that of creativity and that of high-level technology developed by under-35s – which, if desired, can coexist and learn from each other.”
WAY Experience (lead and co-producer) is a media company, active since 2019, which operates in the tourism and culture market with the goal of devising, producing and disseminating B2C projects for the general public through both phygital experiences and full digital experiences. – wayexperience.it
VIS Virtual Immersions in Science (VIS S.r.l.) (co-producer) is an innovative start-up and the first spin-off in the history of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. It creates multimedia products for outstanding science outreach based on innovative digital systems. – vis-sns.com
Studio ToonTaun: active since 2006, this firm deals with both cartoon and photorealistic 3D animation. The studio has collaborated with various broadcasters (Sky, DEA KIDS, etc.) in the production of numerous TV series. In the field of realism, it has specialised in the creation of educational content for Museums and Exhibits, refining 3D modelling techniques, realistic shots and compositing in both traditional and VR environments. – toontaun.it
ADMaiora S.r.l. is a company that provides educational, outreach and cultural entertainment services for museums, exhibitions and events. Established in March 2015 based on the 20-year experience of Associazione Didattica Museale, it draws on its ethos and expertise comprised of passion, knowledge and originality. – admaiora.education
Kosmos Museum: The University of Pavia’s Natural History Museum, one of the oldest in Europe, boasts outstanding scientific and historical collections. Having recently undergone a modern refurbishment, enhanced with interactive stations for adults and children, it offers an opportunity to take a journey with the explorers and scientists who contributed to the development of modern science and biology. Ample space is devoted to highly topical issues such as nature conservation and human actions for the preservation, sustainability and protection of biodiversity. – museokosmos.eu
SEA Vision GROUP was founded in Pavia in 1995 by a university spin-off of the Engineering Department specializing in computer vision. Today, it is a leading company in the development of vision systems for the pharmaceutical industry, in drug traceability solutions and in data analytics software aimed at 4.0 production optimization. Thanks to a forward-looking business plan, the company has maintained a sustainable growth rate over the years. It currently employs a steadily growing workforce of around 330 people, including 186 in Pavia and 144 around the world. Having established itself today in all major world markets, the Group maintains its manufacturing hub in Pavia, the city where its history began. 2020 saw the completion of the construction of a new headquarters, another important step in the company’s development strategy geared towards increasingly ambitious goals. – seavision-group.com
INFO
Tours will be held on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday, at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Tickets on sale online at youaredarwin.com
Full: museum entrance ticket + experience ticket:
-single: €16.00 full, €14.00 reduced (young people under 27, over-65s and people with disabilities)
-family package (at least 3 people): €14.00 full adult, € 13.00 reduced children/young people under 18.
-school groups: €12.00 each.
*All rates include museum entrance fees.
For reservations:
To reserve your ticket for the You Are Darwin experience, you need to visit youaredarwin.com or purchase an admission ticket directly on site.
For information about the exhibition: Kosmos ([email protected] or 0382.986220)
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Contatti SEA Vision
Ufficio stampa
Antonio Leggieri
[email protected]
Company Contact
Maria Grazia Preda
[email protected]
mobile: +39 392 1771730
