Chau Chak Wing Museum to use Inside Explorer to virtually unwrap a two thousand-year-old Egyptian mummy

In 2020 an innovative exhibition space, the Chau Chak Wing Museum, is due to open at the University of Sydney. The museum will bring the University’s museum and art collections under one roof. As part of this endeavour the University has partnered with Interspectral to bring Inside Explorer to the new exhibitions.  

The Nicholson Collection is home to the largest collection of antiquities in the Southern Hemisphere. The collection was established in 1860 in the Nicholson Museum – which remains open until February 2020 – and houses unique archaeological material from Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Mesopotamia. It will be incorporated into the Chau Chak Wing Museum next year. The new museum will have a dedicated mummy room, where Inside Explorer will be used to allow both students and other visitors to interact with a digital copy of one of their Egyptian mummies.

“We are excited by what this collaboration will bring to the new Chau Chak Wing Museum. Inside Explorer will use cutting-edge technology to help students and visitors virtually “unwrap” a mummy of a small boy named Horus, who died in Egypt 2,000 years ago. The in-gallery touch-table enables people to explore how mummified remains tell us about the age, sex, health and beliefs of ancient Egyptian people.”

Dr James Fraser, Senior Curator at the Nicholson Museum.

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Using state of the art CT-scans and photogrammetry Interspectral have created a digital copy of the mummy, allowing visitors to explore the decorations, wrappings and remains of the mummy. This will give visitors a chance to get to know new aspects of the artefact and life in ancient Egypt as well as an understanding of the science of archaeology itself.

”It is always exciting for us to bring new data to Inside Explorer, especially when it is part of such an impressive and innovative project. By merging cutting-edge visualization technology with the knowledge provided by the experts at the Nicholson we will create a truly enlightening public experience.”

Louise Lennersten, CEO of Interspectral.

The Swedish visualization company Interspectral provides state of the art interactive solutions for museums and educational institutions worldwide. By using an intuitive touch interface, visitors can interact with real scientific data, gaining new insights and knowledge.