Extending the museum experience on Rathlin Island for sustainable tourism and accessible heritage

Rathlin Island, a remote location situated on the north of Northern Ireland with 20,000 annual visitors each year, presents unique challenges for preserving its historical and natural heritage while ensuring accessibility.
This paper outlines the creative processes behind two co-designed interactive VR museum experiences with the Rathlin community, to create a sustainable solution for balancing responsible and accessible tourism with education and island representation. The first experience, guides participants through the stages and techniques of crafting a neolithic porcellanite axe; and the second, a sustainability learning game, invites participants to explore the Rathlin Island seabed, shipwrecks and wildlife in a submersible, to collect harmful plastics and debris. These educational VR games feed into a wider portfolio of digital experiences, currently in development, which aim to promote the traditions, heritage and wildlife of the island for sustainable futures.
The project tested 3D Scanning techniques, including photogrammetry, LIDAR, and Radiance Fields, as well as animation, and game technologies to experiment with different applications of digital twins, and immersive digital experiences. The result allows visitors to virtually explore historical sites, fragile ecosystems, craft traditions, and inaccessible areas, providing a deeper understanding of Rathlin's rich history and natural beauty, for visitors to the island, as well as in off-island museums and educational spaces, without compromising the delicate balance of its environment.
As part of the AHRC funded “Green Transition Ecosystem: Future Island-Island”, this digital transformation project, was created in collaboration with a team of Animators, Game Designers, historians, and the Rathin Island community, to enhance visitor experiences by creating a sense of authenticity, presence and connection with the past, even in hard-to-access areas.