Museums are using VR and immersive experiences to boost attendances – and, while it can provide an amazing spectacle, critics say it can be an expensive distraction

It starts with a low rumble, then an explosion and a deafening roar. A pyroclastic flow bursts from the volcano and hurtles towards us at a frightening speed. Showers of ash appear to pummel the space around us – well technically, it’s a pumice lapilli unique to Mount Vesuvius – and, for a few minutes, visitors to the National Museum of Australia are in Pompeii 1,946 years ago.

Immersive experiences, including increasingly sophisticated virtual reality technology, have gone from gimmick to essential component of blockbuster museum exhibitions, despite criticism from scholarly quarters that whiz-bang special effects can distract viewers from the actual artefacts and exhibits, and are training a future generation to assume entertainment is the primary function of museums.

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