The Angers museum can be visited on Animal Crossing - Animal Crossing screenshot

  • A scientific mediator from the Museum of Natural Sciences of Angers visits his virtual museum on Animal Crossing.
  • The experience lasts 45 minutes and allows you to learn more about the fossils, insects or fish encountered in the game.

Like all cultural establishments in France, he lowered the curtain from the start of confinement until further notice. But the Museum of Natural Sciences of Angers has started, virtually at least, to receive from the public. For a few days, it has been possible to walk through its collections of insects, fossils or other fish ... via the video game "Animal Crossing" , which has been a great success since its release on Switch. On Wednesdays and Sundays, a 45-minute guided tour is led by Léo Tessier, scientific mediator at the museum. The next ones are already sold out (seven players each time).

"In the game, each character must feed their own museum with the objects and species they collect," says this fan of Animal Crossing . I told myself that it would be funny to recreate the museum: the collection is of course different and less provided (around sixty objects against 500,000!). But we can draw parallels: in the game, where there is a real concern for realism, I have for example a plesiosaurus, this large marine reptile six meters long and its large jaw, also presented at the Museum. It is also an opportunity to talk about other specimens or fossils, which we are not used to seeing in France for some. This is the case of the Attacus Atlas , the largest moth in the world! "

When the @Museum_Angers talks to you about a giant water flea #AnimalCrossing # ACNH # MuseumFromHome pic.twitter.com/Te89JEmklY

- Alyx (@RhesusNegatif) April 8, 2020

Fossilized droppings, spiders and wasps

To participate in this original experience, visitors must own the game and book their session by email. They receive a code which gives them access to "Mayonnaise Island" where they are greeted by the avatar of Léo Tessier, recognizable by his cowboy hat and his binoculars around his neck. "I ask them to connect in parallel on Skype," says the scientific mediator. Once the whole group is there, I start the explanations. We talk about diplodocus, footprints, or this fossilized dung, which allows us to study in great detail what the dinosaurs ate. We walk between spiders, bedbugs, wasps ... which also allows us to approach the role of insects in the pollination of flowers. "

As during the visits that he normally leads, Léo Tessier focuses on interactivity with the public, who connects from all over France. “I involve them, but they can also ask me questions in writing or via the microphone. For some, they have never visited a museum. Maybe once the confinement is lifted, it will make them want to come and see us for real. Until the opportunity presents itself, a visit will be broadcast on Friday morning at 10 am via streaming.

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