We created ‘Back to Life in Virtual Reality’. Two experiences where prehistoric beasts come back to life from museum fossils. These can be viewed anywhere using Google Cardboard, as well as in the museums themselves.

People can come face to face with extinct animals - learn about how they lived and see how our actions impact species today. Giving them a new way to experience the past and motivating them to help preserve life on our planet for the future.

The VR experiences spearheaded the online launch of Google Arts & Culture’s Natural History collection - driving user interest and media engagement.

We created temporary installations in the museums for the launch events that allowed visitors to see the fossils come back to life in-situ.

Scientists advised us throughout the reconstruction of the animals to ensure they were as life-like and accurate as possible. Everything from the the size of the eyes, to the texture and colour of the skin was painstakingly researched and recreated.

We used laser scanning to capture the historical museum spaces in high definition, which meant we could drop the dinosaurs into a realistic environment they could interact with.

YouTube’s Virtual Reality mode provided a scalable solution, available to all online, but allowed for a more immersive experience when accessed in the museums.

The project was created over 3 intense months.

1.2 M people have tried the experience to date, they generated 250M+ social impressions and 370 hits across international media including The Times, Daily Mail, Sky News, Huffpost, Wired and Die Welt.

The experiences contributed to drive 2.3M+ visitors to the Google Arts & Culture platform.

Natural History was the most successful and covered Google Arts & Culture launch ever.