A new virtual reality (VR) exhibit set to open at the Boca Raton Museum in October will immerse visitors in the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu, Peru. The all-new, immersive museum experience will transport visitors to the jewel of the only cradle of civilization in the Southern Hemisphere, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Visitors will be able to walk among a stunning selection of 192 artifacts from royal tombs that include spectacular objects that belonged to noble Andean lords. They will plunge into the Amazon rain-forest and come face-to-face with one of the most impressive collections of gold treasures to ever tour the world.
Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru is an impressive and extensive exhibition that showcases the limitless potential of VR technology
Anthony Tann, president of World Heritage Exhibitions
The exhibition will include an accompanying Virtual Reality experience called “Machu Picchu and the Spirit of the Condor,” which will allow visitors to explore the wonders of the stunning citadel. The experience will feature the founder of Machu Picchu, the grand Inca emperor Pachacuti, who infuses viewers with the spirit of the condor then flies with them across the magnificent landscape.
On their journey, viewers will meet the city’s ancient inhabitants and experience some of its most iconic locations from the Temple of the Sun to the heights of Huayna Picchu. Cinematic motion chairs help bring the experience to life, complete with a thunderstorm and even an earthquake.
I am excited to welcome visitors to experience this monumental period of human history through the lens of virtual reality
Anthony Tann, president of World Heritage Exhibitions
According to Travel + Leisure, less than one million visitors are allowed in each year to preserve the historic site. During the pandemic, however, that number dropped to approximately 250,000 to allow for social distancing. The exhibit is expected to make use of VR motion chairs that include scent dispensers, multisensory stimulation features such as high-resolution six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) VR headsets, unlimited 360-degree rotation, and much more.
Guided by Ai Apaec, a mythical Andean hero, visitors will also be able to explore one of the most important archaeological ruins in the Cusco region, known as the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Machu Picchu was a fortress and a shrine of the Incas, and includes agricultural terraces, stone houses and several ceremonial temples made with immense stones.
The precision with which the Incas arranged the stones without using any type of cement or mortar, and the fact that the entire structure is on top of a mountain, makes the citadel a masterpiece of engineering and architecture. Machu Picchu is considered one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
