UNLOCKING MUSEUM COLLECTIONS WITH 3D PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND VIRTUAL TOURS

3D photogrammetry is a tool that can make museum specimens and exhibits more accessible without the problems that come from handling and shipping specimens. Virtual tours may be used to record case displays, temporary and permanent exhibits, and even entire museum layouts, extending the reach of the museum and adding an abundance of information beyond what is typically available in the physical exhibits. Creating 3D models and virtual tours is cost-effective, requiring high-quality cameras/lenses and reasonably powerful computers to handle compute-intense software. 3D photogrammetry involves capturing and combining multiple photographs to form a photo-realistic, virtual 3D model of a specimen. 3D photogrammetric models can be calibrated to the specimen's dimensions so that researchers can make accurate measurements on the model without handling the original specimen. The models can be presented in a variety of formats to expand the reach of the museum, including databases, 3D PDFs, social media, web pages, PowerPoint presentations, exhibit kiosks, etc. The models can be outputted in formats for 3D printing, allowing museum patrons, school kids, visually impaired visitors, etc. the opportunity to explore specimens tactilely without endangering the original specimen.

Virtual tours involve constructing up to 360 by 180 degree panoramas of exhibit rooms or entire halls. This involves obtaining overlapping photographs using a circular fisheye lens or other ultra-wide-angle camera lenses. Software, mostly aimed at the real-estate industry, can produce highly interactive virtual tours that include audio, video, 3D photogrammetric models, annotated photographs of exhibit specimens, etc. The tours can be placed on the web, education-room computers, tablets, virtual-reality goggles, and exhibit kiosks. The amount of information related to exhibits can be greatly enhanced in the virtual tour by adding text, audio, and even videos. Virtual tours also extend the reach of the museum by presenting areas not accessible to the public, such as laboratories and collections storage areas. Virtual tours of the Milwaukee Public Museum's Silurian reef diorama and the Field Museum's fossil invertebrate collections storage area will be presented. The current pandemic highlights the need to make collections and exhibits remotely available to researchers and the public.