Museum Innovation Fund
In 2021, the Academy of Natural Sciences in collaboration with the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design established the Museum Innovation Fund (MIF) to support projects developed by Drexel faculty and students that promote innovative approaches to museum learning and engagement.
We are pleased to announce the Winter 2024/Spring 25 awardee.
Immersive Philadelphia Textile Trail: A Virtual Reality Experience at ANS
Led by Chris Baeza, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Design; supported by Rachel Higgins, Department of Design, working with students from the Digital Media program
This project aims to create an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience that showcases Philadelphia's sustainable textile ecosystem. Through 360° VR content, visitors will virtually explore the operations of three local textile producers, highlighting sustainable manufacturing practices. By taking visitors through these facilities, the project aims to connect ANS's environmental mission to sustainable textile production, demonstrating its impact on urban ecology and encouraging sustainable consumer choices. Students will be involved in content creation, VR experience design, and visitor engagement analysis.
The project will:
- Make textile supply chains visible.
- Link environmental science with consumer behavior.
- Showcase local sustainable manufacturing.
- Engage visitors through immersive storytelling.
This project is connected to ANS’ exhibition The Ecology of Fashion, open through August 31, 2025 in the Dietrich Gallery. Featuring stunning and provocative garments from Drexel’s Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection — heralded as a “world-class collection of fashion and textiles” by The Wall Street Journal — as well as specimens from the Academy of Natural Sciences and works by contemporary change-makers, the exhibit boldly shows how materials, production processes and our own patterns of clothing consumption impact the world around us.