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In Courseulles-sur-Mer in Calvados, the Juno Beach center is inventing the live, 360-degree virtual museum visit. This is a first: visitors can discover the remains of the Atlantic Wall from their homes. #TheyHaveTheSolution
Catherine Quintal is a guide-lecturer at the Juno Beach centre. Built on the very spot where 5,500 soldiers lost their lives during the Allied landings, this place of remembrance is dedicated to all of the 45,000 Canadian victims of the Second World War. Here you can still see the remains of the Atlantic Wall, a system of coastal fortifications built by the Third Reich. That day, Catherine organizes a visit, however, around her, no tourist is present. This is an entirely virtual visit: using a mobile filming unit and a 360° camera, the guide records live images and comments.
This 2.0 device, unique in its kind, allows history enthusiasts to follow the explanations from home, enjoying the view and asking questions through chat. “It’s a different approach because here we are going to encourage this interaction with visitors. We don’t feel alone with the camera thanks to the tablet which allows us to have a direct link with our virtual visitors”, Catherine explains.
More accessible tours
The prototype of the machine thanks to which these virtual tours are possible was designed by a Caen-based agency specializing in digital cultural projects. “For this to work, the main element is a computer. We also need a wifi terminal to connect to the internet. We think there is a future in this since it is a human visit, the guide masters the entire visit and you can ask him questions without it being by interposed webcam”, details a technician.
A technology that promotes access to heritage by breaking down the barriers of distance and disability. “The first usefulness is to be able to speak to everyone, for Canadians who cannot come there but also for people with motor disabilities. The goal is to transmit history”, summarizes Catherine. Indeed, in presence, the guided tour of the bunkers is not accessible to people in wheelchairs. Virtual tours at Juno Park are available in French and English for 6 euros per person.
Juno Park Virtual Tours. Available Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
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