Becancour. Starting next fall, if all goes well, Moulin Michel will be propelled into a new era that will wow visitors, quite literally! In fact, thanks to the application of mixed reality technologies, it will now be possible to dive into the heart of the mill and have artifacts of all kinds at your fingertips that you can manipulate as you wish… virtually!
Through the magic of holograms this will become possible. The visitor will be invited to wear a headset equipped with special glasses that will give him access to an impressive range of interactive information: “We will be able to play with holograms: zoom in on objects, click on videos, rotate images…” explains Samuel Ladouceur, project manager and art director at Moulin Michel.
What was a fantasy just a few decades ago has become a reality with the HoloLens technology developed by Microsoft that will be used in Moulin Michel. The organization will be able to program all types of digital exhibitions and develop very diverse projects. This technology can also be transferred outside the museum walls, in the context of a traveling exhibition. “We will be able to go around schools or other places to talk about Moulin Michel and highlight the culture and heritage [qui y sont associés ] », adds Mr. Ladouceur.
This immersive technology does not yet exist in Canadian museums. By becoming a pioneer, Moulin-Michel will be able to put his experience at the service of other museum institutions, which will allow him, in particular, to obtain a return on his investments.
Moulin Michel's General Manager, Philippe Dumas, is excited about this shift towards digital. It is a project that he has been experimenting with since 2020 and includes several components. For example, in recent years, an organization has equipped itself with a cloud-based smart cash register system to better manage its inventory and better control its databases. It has also integrated a transactional component into its website (online store and ticket booking), among others.
Now it's the turn of the largest piece to be finished. “It will allow us to do a lot with the little space we have. “We will be able to take people on a journey through time and make the inaccessible almost tangible,” says Mr. Dumas.
During the unveiling of the celebrations associated with the 250th anniversary of Moulin Michel last week, guests were able to taste the possibilities that HoloLens technology will offer. People who tried the headset found themselves in the center of a parallel universe of the activity taking place around them. By making movements with their arms and fingers, they had complete control over what they saw: a model of an ancient instrument to their left, explanatory text and an image in front of them, and a video to their right.
Until the new digital exhibition is ready, the Mill team continues to enrich its media library. Visitors and Bikankoro are also invited to come and tell their memories in the Memory Box, an installation located at the café until next June. Mullan's team also searches for photographs, paintings and other documents to enrich its museum archive.
“Hardcore beer fanatic. Falls down a lot. Professional coffee fan. Music ninja.”
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