Verizon has collaborated with the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for an in-app augmented reality (AR) experience that allows visitors to bring elements of the museum’s displays into Roblox.
Now visitors of The Met can download a free app, Replica, and access a map that indicates various items in the museum that can be scanned via mobile device to be turned into a digital collectible and transferred to Roblox as an item or avatar accessory. Each item will appear in users’ inventories and each Replica item also offers information about an object’s history.
With the Replica app, visitors can follow various clues that appear on an in-app digital map, guiding them through various galleries and items throughout the museum. The Replica app can be downloaded for free on iOS and Android devices.
Additionally, Roblox users can explore a virtual version of The Met’s facade in addition to other immersive experiences. The effort follows a past tie-up with the museum and Verizon around AR and signals how educational entities are working to engage the next wave of consumers.
Each digital wearable to be obtained through the Replica experience was inspired by The Met’s vast collection of 1.5 million objects. In total, 37 pieces of artwork were selected for the experience, including a Japanese suit of armor stemming from the early 14th to early 15th century and Vincent van Gogh’s straw hat from his 1887 “Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat” piece.
The experience on Roblox also includes explorable spaces, including a portion of the Met, along with the ability for users to display their various collected items in museum-style display cases and take photos in four photo booth spaces.
The experience was created and designed with multidisciplinary company Unit9 and Verizon in collaboration with production and strategy company Ode to Joy, Roblox and The Met. The Replica offering will be promoted on social media with the hashtag #TheMetReplica.
To learn more about the Met and Verizon collaboration please visit: https://www.metmuseum.org/press/news/2023/the-met-replica.
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Source: Marketing Dive, The Met, Verizon, Robolox
