Learning to see the past differently
We have studied history, and it is a crucial part of our school curriculum. We teach the younger generation historical events, and what we went through as a society in hopes those mistakes will never be repeated. We teach our children to be better than us and our past generations. However, there are not always good ways to preserve and share artifacts to show our children. What if there was a way to share what artifacts look like without taking them out of a classroom? There is an answer; it is 3D laser scanning.
Some of the newest technology we have is helping preserve our history and teach our kids better than ever before. 3D laser scanning allows any historical object to be scanned and sent to a partnering system. This program will enable kids to see objects in 3D from every angle without hurting the items and fully observing them.
Florida Holocaust Museum
In St. Petersburg, the Holocaust Museum adopted 3D laser scanning to do just that. Capture all of the information on historical objects without causing any damage or harm to them. They focused on scanning artifacts that caused so much segregation and hate in our world.
They chose to preserve these and allow others to study these artifacts because teaching them how harmful they were and what they represented to learn from it. By learning from these historical symbols, we never have to repeat them.
This museum chose to focus on KKK or KuKluxKlan robes, white hats, and green benches. All of which ruled parts of Florida at one time and no longer does. By keeping this memory alive, we are allowing people to learn. By using 3D laser scanning, we allow free information to be shared throughout our world.
3D laser scanning created online possibilities
This exhibit was shown for only a short period. However, you can still see all of the scans and artifacts through the museum’s website. You can view them from every direction and study them as close as you want as if you were actually looking at the pieces in person. You can explore online thanks to the help of 3D laser scanning.
The objects stay safe
One of the museums’ biggest advantages of adopting 3D laser scanning is that none of the objects are harmed. The lasers do not penetrate the items; they roam over the artifacts collecting hard to see data. The researchers can capture every strand and fiber of material and save it digitally.
This information can quickly be sent across the world and be viewed. This means that someone could also potentially 3D print an exact replica without having to send any objects back and forth. This preserves the artifacts because it does not need to be handled as much.
Final thoughts
Though it is an uncomfortable subject, and in a world full of chaos, it may seem hard to understand why we would want to preserve this history. However, it is essential to learn from past mistakes and 3D laser scanning to see how wrong previous generations were. This technology will allow us to share with future generations over and over again.
