Virtual Tour of Odisha State Tribal Museum – SCSTRTI, ST & SC Development Department, Government of Odisha
The Odisha Tribal Museum received more than 50,000 visitors every year on average, with a total of 1,00,000 visitors in 2019.
Problem
- Transforming Real Life Spaces into 3D Models
- Making the Tribal Museum accessible to visitors, researchers, school students, enthusiasts and other stakeholders from across the globe during the Covid-19 lockdown
- Sensitisation and awareness about Virtual Tour and accessing the tribal museum through a digital platform
- Developing Digital content for the Virtual Tour of the Museum
Solution
- Design and launch of the Virtual Tour of the Tribal Museum, one of its kind of technological innovation
- Developing Documentary Films & Virtual Tour Videos
- Transform Real Life Spaces like museums, Galleries, and Tribal huts into immersive digital 3D Models
- Weekly Posting of the Films and Tour Videos on social media platforms (Facebook/Twitter etc)
Outcomes
- Reached out to the global audience
- Successfully realizing the vision of Digital India and the 5T Initiative of the Government
- Making Tribal Museum accessible to people overcoming the Covid 19 restrictions
- Engaging experts and scholars across the globe in tribal discourse and discussions
Project Details
Category: Innovation
Sub-Category: Technological Innovation
Project: Virtual Tour of Odisha State Tribal Museum
Organisation: Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes Research & Training Institute (SCSTRTI), ST & SC Development Department,Government of Odisha
Start Date: 02-Aug-2020
Problem
The Odisha Tribal Museum received more than 50,000 visitors every year on average, with a total of 1,00,000 visitors in 2019. The Tribal Museum was also shuttered for more than a year in 2020 owing to complete lockdown and travel restrictions. During this time, the main goal was to overcome this setback and make the Tribal Museum accessible to tourists from all across the country and beyond.
Odisha State Tribal Museum was closed to visitors after the lockdown was imposed. All live demonstrations and festivals have been postponed indefinitely. The epidemic had an adverse influence on the tribal museum, which serves as a cultural center for visitors from India and outside through exhibits, research initiatives, training, and seminars. The lockdown during the Pandemic resulted in the entire closure of the Tribal Museum, affecting tourists, researchers, school students, enthusiasts, and other stakeholders from around the world.
Solution
As the saying goes, ‘necessity is the mother of invention,’ so purposeful attempts were made to bring the Tribal Museum to the people if people are unable to visit physically to experience the Museum’s learnings. This resulted in the creation and launch of the Tribal Museum’s Virtual Tour, a first-of-its-kind technological innovation that allows visitors from all over the world to gain anthropological insights and a glimpse into the art, artifacts, tools, and customs of Odisha’s diverse indigenous communities.
The virtual tour designed by the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), is part of the 5T initiative of the State Government and the Digital India vision of the Central Government. The organisation Developed Documentary Films and Virtual Tour Videos, it transformed real-life spaces like museums, galleries, and tribal huts into immersive digital 3D models. To promote the initiative the institution posted Weekly of the Films and Tour Videos on social media platforms (Facebook/Twitter etc.)
Outcomes
The virtual tour not only breached the barrier of Covid-19 regulations but also allowed for continuous access to a global audience. The virtual tour allows visitors to take self-guided, room-by-room tours of select exhibits and areas within the museum from their desktop or mobile device. It takes the visitors on a 360-degree tour of all the galleries where one can see specimens and short descriptions of certain unique exhibits, shrine crafts, and huts. The digital experience of the exhibits looks so intriguing and seems to provide an immersive experience of the tribal museum and culture.
The restriction on the number of individuals who can visit the tribal museum owing to Covid regulations is no longer a barrier, as the digital experience allows people all over the world to access and benefit from the learning experience. Over the course of a year since the Virtual Tour’s inception, over 100,000 visitors have accessed the digital platforms and benefited from the virtual tour.
