The AR Virtual Museum Within The MCC

he Mediterranean Conference Centre in Malta is rich in history, and the concept to make the building a museum was coined five years ago, after visitors kept expressing interest into learning more about the building, which acted as a hospital throughout the Middle Ages.

Although the team at the MCC wanted to launch a museum, they were wary not to disrupt any ongoing theatre performances or conferences taking place. This is where the team at the MCC thought outside the box and created the notion of a virtual AR museum. 

Visitors are able to relive the Sacra Infermeria in what is today Malta’s Mediterranean Conference Centre, marrying heritage with cutting edge technology. 

The AR museum is created on a mobile app, which delivers an immersive experience with AR, which allows visitors to be a part of the history of the building centuries ago when it was used as the first hospital in Malta. Visitors can witness last rites, watch blessings and roam the kitchen and see the staff complete their daily routines, which can all be experienced in various international languages.

But this is only the start, there are many more features of the app to help create a memorable experience for visitors. Some of the main features are: 

• AR experiences of historically accurate events which took place at the Sacra Infermeria;
• Interactive AR Games which enable visitors to be part of the action witnessed during the Second World War;
• Visitors are able to create their own AR scenes and dance with the main characters using the special AR Builder;
• See what the Chapel of the Bones looked like before it was bombed during WW2;
• The virtual AR museum lets visitors explore the museum at their own pace while listening to the detailed audio guide and discovering multimedia content related to every stop;
• Reach the special Holographic Display room where visitors can have a close encounter with a digital life-size version of Grandmaster De Valette;
  

The app created by the MCC also gives visitors the opportunity to explore the Grand Harbour from the impressive Grand Harbour Terrace, where visitors can learn about each and every point of interest surrounding this harbour.

The museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on 20th July and hopes to bring more people to the Mediterranean Conference Centre, whilst breathing new life into the lower part of Valletta.