The Challenge: Twin Cities Public Tele­vi­sion and the Smith­sonian National Museum of Natural History wanted a way to share learning objec­tives with a hands-on pale­on­tology-based museum exhibit that pairs with their docu­men­tary film When Whales Walked: Journeys in Deep Time. This project involved ensuring expe­ri­en­tial acces­si­bility for guests ranging from 8‑years-old to adult, designing unique gameplay for a coop­er­a­tive duo of a VR and non-VR player, and presenting chal­lenging pale­on­tology material in an intuitive way for both new and VR-savvy players.

The Solution: Deep Time Detec­tives is a two-player, coop­er­a­tive expe­ri­ence that puts guests into the shoes of a high-tech pale­on­tology team. Using VR tech­nology, one guest plays the role of Field Pale­on­tol­o­gist while the second guest, outside of VR, provides research expertise. Working together, players will unearth and classify a myste­rious fossil found at a dig site in Pakistan.

The Result: The expe­ri­ence was launched in September 2019 at the Smith­sonian National Museum of Natural History. Addi­tion­ally, the Smith­sonian hosts ​“Fossil Festivals,” which showcase the film and game to libraries, schools, and museums across the United States.

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