Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Orlando opened new Lost Civilization Gallery in June 2021 with interactive mummy scans from Interspectral.
In June 2021, the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium in Orlando opened a new Lost Civilization Gallery, allowing guests to visit Egypt and beyond with genuine artifacts, interactives, media, and a splash of Robert Ripley’s travels thrown in. Egyptian culture has always fascinated people and, as a window into the past, mummies never cease to amaze. Through our collaboration with Ripley’s, the new gallery will also be a place for visitors to virtually explore beneath the wrappings of mummies. It will enable them to study the inside of a mummified priest, as well as an Ibis bird mummy that is totally unique to this exhibition.
The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! exhibits collection is built on the foundation of Robert Ripley’s personal souvenirs from his worldwide travels. A total of 28 Odditoriums and two warehouses hold more than 35,000 exhibits, and as the expert staff of Ripley’s continues to search the globe, new artifacts, themed galleries, captivating video stories and interactive displays are continually added.
“The more our guests can engage with interactivity, the more they will learn about and be amazed at the artifacts in the Ripley’s collection.” – Kurtis Moellmann, Ripley’s Exhibits Buyer
The interactives from Interspectral are bringing a fascinating yet educative element to the new Lost Civilization Gallery, where curious visitors will be able to virtually explore Neswaiu, an ancient Egyptian priest whose mummified body is currently in the collection of the Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden. Unlike many others, Neswaiu’s mummy has been resting inside his intact wrappings for more than two thousand years. It is not until recently, with the aid of modern scanning and visualization technology, that we can investigate the remains of Neswaiu and his burial equipment, inside-out. This is all performed without disturbing these ancient remains.
The mummy priest Neswaiu shown in Inside Explorer 
Neswaiu at The Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden
The initial purchase of the Inside Explorer system, featuring the mummy priest Neswaiu, lit a spark that quickly resulted in customized production and visualization of the Ibis mummy from Ripley’s very own Egyptian collection. This visualization will be exhibited in the gallery alongside the actual Ibis mummy, adding a whole new dimension to the physical artifact.
“The unique and engaging Inside Explorer software allows our guests to explore both the Neswaiu mummy and our own artifacts. It’s exciting to be able to interact, and let guests interact, with a scan of one of our actual pieces!”– Kurtis Moellmann, Ripley’s Exhibits Buyer
Ibis Mummy from Ripley’s Egyptian Collection, visualized in Inside Explorer 
The hidden inside of this Ibis is revealed while the physical mummy remains intact
The Ripley’s staff are always on the lookout for compelling interactives that connect back to exhibits in their collection, and for this specific project, Inside Explorer and Interspectral ticked all the boxes.
Neswaiu’s digital twin is available in the Interspectral content library of ready-made visualizations that can be purchased straight off the shelf. Would you like to follow Ripley’s example and exhibit Neswaiu at your venue? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us! It’s an unbelievable experience, ready to be shared with the world.
We will be back with more news on Ripley’s and with follow-ups on the Ibis project.
