Chemnitzion richteri can be experienced as a 3D model for the first time
Museum für Naturkunde: Virtual reality taster session on 6 September, from 2.30 to 5 pm
On Tuesday, 6 September, from 2.30 pm to 5 pm, visitors to the Museum für Naturkunde will have the opportunity to experience the digital 3D model of Chemnitzion richteri virtually for the first time, along with several other 3D models. The fossilised amphibian was the first animal from the Chemnitz Petrified Forest to be reconstructed in a digital model.
This afternoon, visitors can put on VR glasses and explore the virtual world that is currently being created. In this exhibition, it is possible to touch fossils and look the lifelike Chemnitzion in the eye.
Due to the continued strong visitor interest, the special exhibition about Chemnitzion richteri will be extended until 4 October 2022. The original Chemnitz richteri will be on display at the Museum of Natural History until then.
It often takes years from fossilisation to publication, especially in the case of as yet unknown species of fossilised plants and animals. The latest animal from the Petrified Forest, Chemnitzion richteri, was no exception: twelve years passed between the discovery of the fossil and its publication in the International Palaeontological Journal. Prior to this, the object had to be stabilised, prepared and documented using various methods such as photography, computer tomography and classical scientific drawing. The scientists looked through comparative material from all over the world, scrutinised the literature and created a feature matrix that ultimately made it possible to reconstruct the relationships.
To mark the publication of the book, the team at the Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz worked with the US palaeoartist Calliesauria to recreate the amphibian in a lifelike digital 3D model. Based on the scientific drawings of Chemnitzion, the artist used information on its fossil and living relatives and, in constant dialogue with the scientists, recreated the animal's head, body and limbs. She modelled a warty skin with scales on the belly and provided the finished model with a support structure modelled on the skeleton, which can be used for anatomically correct changes to the body position and later also for an animation.
The 3D model was created as part of the project "When Chemnitz was on the equator. Prelude to a digital journey into prehistoric times", which aims to make the Permian forest a virtual 3D experience. This project is being developed as part of the "dive in. Programme for Digital Interactions" of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM) as part of the Neustart Kultur programme.