British Museum to be digitally recreated in Minecraft By Joe Miller Technology Reporter
23 September 2014
The British Museum in London - complete with all its exhibits - will be recreated in the video game Minecraft.
The project is part of the Museum of the Future scheme which aims to increase the appeal of the institution.
Numerous real-world organizations have made maps in Minecraft, including Ordnance Survey, the Danish government and Ordnance Survey. They want to inform young people of their work.
Last week, Minecraft was sold to Microsoft for $2.5bn (PS1.5bn).
A spokesperson for the museum said that the project was still in "an early stage of planning" and that the "build" has not yet begun.
She said that the organization was looking for volunteers to help in the "construction".
The British Museum
The first national public museum in the world, founded in 1753
The UK's most popular tourist attraction
Nearly six million people visit the museum each year and contains eight million items
Its natural history collection were moved to South Kensington in 1880s, which would later become the Natural History Museum.
Minecraft servers
Its instantly recognized Great Court was designed by Lord Foster and is the largest covered public space in Europe.
One British Museum employee posted details of the project on social media site Reddit, asking for volunteers to get involved.
He received a warm response from Minecraft fans from all over the world.
Initial stages
Digitally creating the Great Court, facade and interior of the building is the initial step in the process.
The institution hopes that this stage will be in place in time for the public debate titled Changing public dialogues around museum collections in the digital age. The event will be held on the 16th of October.
Ovum's Ovum gaming analyst Ed Barton told the BBC that the British Museum's shift towards Minecraft will make it "perceived as something that is fun" and could be an educational tool for a young public.
He said, "It's the digital version of building the British Museum using Lego." "You must build it brick by brick".
He also said that the company should be praised for crowdsourcing it "as this transforms it into something that is collaborative" and could further engage youngsters Minecraft fans.
"What is a great idea it would be to be asked to build the Elgin Marbles in Minecraft," he said.
Reddit is the best platform to let people know you are interested in supporting the British Museum project.
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British Museum - Museum of the Future
