Image: The University of Glasgow's Dr Pauline Mackay and Dr Lynn Verschuren visit The Hunterian (University of Glasgow / Martin Shields)
Part of £5.6m virtual museums project, a digital 19th-century laboratory showcasing Lord Kelvin’s scientific instruments and artefacts has been revealed
A new virtual reality exhibition dedicated to pioneering scientist Lord Kelvin has been revealed by The University of Glasgow.
The virtual museum is part of the £5.6m ‘Museums in the Metaverse’ project, led by researchers from the University, which is digitising assets from cultural collections around the world to make them available in virtual reality form online.
The virtual exhibition features a series of digitised scientific instruments and artifacts related to the scientist’s work at the University of Glasgow, many of which are not normally on public display.
The objects are displayed in a digital recreation of a typical 19th-century University of Glasgow laboratory, built from historic photos of Kelvin’s labs and featuring historically accurate architectural elements from the Gilbert Scott building.
Born in Belfast on June 26 1824 as William Thomson, Lord Kelvin became one of the 19th century’s most accomplished scientists. He made breakthrough contributions to physics, engineering and mathematics during his career at the University of Glasgow, where he first enrolled as a student aged just 10.
The virtual space is illuminated by the glow of early electric lighting, highlighting Kelvin’s role as a pioneer of electricity – his house on the University campus was one of the first in the world to be lit entirely by electric bulbs.
The virtual exhibition showcases items from the collection of The Hunterian, the oldest public museum in Scotland, which curates a large collection of objects related to Lord Kelvin, some of which are on display in the real-world museum on the University’s campus.
The Museums in the Metaverse platform is supported by £5.6m in funding from the UK Government’s Innovation Accelerator programme. It is being developed by the University of Glasgow in partnership with immersive learning platform Edify, Historic Environment Scotland and National Museums Scotland.
The Kelvin exhibition has been curated by Museums in the Metaverse team members Dr Pauline Mackay, Dr Lynn Verschuren and Dr Alan Matthews in partnership with Lateral North, who created the digital environment.
Dr Mackay said: “We’re delighted to be part of the University’s bicentenary celebrations of the birth of Lord Kelvin, and to work with our colleagues at The Hunterian to put some of their lesser-seen items on virtual display.
“Since the project began last year, we’ve digitised hundreds of objects from collections around the world and will make them available for people to build their own virtual museum collections online from spring next year. This virtual exhibition is the first themed museum we’ve built from the ground up to showcase a single collection, and we’re very proud of the work we’ve put in to create a 19th-century lab environment which showcases Kelvin’s life, work and legacy.”
The unveiling of the exhibition brings to a close the University of Glasgow’s Lord Kelvin 200 celebrations, marking the bicentenary of the birth of William Thomson. The University has hosted a series of events celebrating Kelvin’s legacy, including public lectures, an international symposium, and exhibitions.
