Penn Museum to license online tool developed by Barnes Foundation that provides up-close look at artifacts

The Penn Museum will soon launch an online tool that lets users get up-close and personal with some of its artifacts.

The University City institution partnered with the Barnes Foundation to utilize its Visual Experience Platform, which was designed to allow students in virtual classes to take deep dives into displays. The tool provides 360-degree views of galleries and collections, with an option to zoom in during live and recorded programming.

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Users can magnify a painting to look at brush strokes, the weave of the canvass and other details that might not be visible in-person because of limited accessibility.

Steve Brady, the chief technology officer for the Barnes, said the technology will sometimes show small figures or other Easter eggs not visible to the naked eye.

"You're like, 'here's a detail that our instructors, who have been looking at these paintings for years, hadn't noticed before because you're able to get so close — closer that you can get in the galleries,'" Brady said.

The Barnes Foundation started hosting classes on the platform in January 2023. The tool is accessible on smartphones and tablets, and it includes features like captions and keyboard navigation.

The Penn Museum will be the first outside institution to license the technology, which it plans to use for its Deep Dig classes in October and Archaeology in Action lecture series in November.

Deep Dig includes four virtual sessions on ancient history from Penn faculty, scholars and field experts as well as access to digital readings, research and videos. Archaeology in Action includes up to nine lectures per season, which typically has around 100 attendees.

"It puts so much agency into the hands of the of the learner," Brady said. "It makes it a real active experience."

Through the partnership, Barnes and Penn Museum members will receive $50 off tuition to attend the other institution's virtual classes.