Open Forum

Good morning everyone!

In 2019 (it may have been 2018-I was not part of the planning process for this particular project) my museum began the planning of a virtual reality experience that was slated to open in 2020. The physical construction, design, and installation was about 95% ready to go when the pandemic hit and everything was shutdown. Administration has decided that we will open this exhibit experience in the very near future.

However, we are looking for more information on how best to keep the headsets clean and sanitized. The manufacturer of the headsets provided a spray that they said should reside at the station for visitors to use to clean them before/after they are done using said headsets. My colleague who is overseeing the final steps of installation believes the cleaning spray is designed for the physical hard-case of the headset only. We are loath to have this spray left on the exhibit for visitors to use because:

1. constant use of the spray would introduce potential materials/particles into the air within the galleries
2. the spray is labeled as needing to be kept out of the reach of children
3. with museum staffing levels severely reduced because of Covid, we do not have the ability to continually monitor who is using the spray and how much they are using
4. the spray would damage the custom wood-work station built for this experience
5. the interior of the headsets are cloth and the spray would just keep them damp

Do any of you have these types of experiences up and running in your museum? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Good morning everyone!

In 2019 (it may have been 2018-I was not part of the planning process for this particular project) my museum began the planning of a virtual reality experience that was slated to open in 2020. The physical construction, design, and installation was about 95% ready to go when the pandemic hit and everything was shutdown. Administration has decided that we will open this exhibit experience in the very near future.

However, we are looking for more information on how best to keep the headsets clean and sanitized. The manufacturer of the headsets provided a spray that they said should reside at the station for visitors to use to clean them before/after they are done using said headsets. My colleague who is overseeing the final steps of installation believes the cleaning spray is designed for the physical hard-case of the headset only. We are loath to have this spray left on the exhibit for visitors to use because:

1. constant use of the spray would introduce potential materials/particles into the air within the galleries
2. the spray is labeled as needing to be kept out of the reach of children
3. with museum staffing levels severely reduced because of Covid, we do not have the ability to continually monitor who is using the spray and how much they are using
4. the spray would damage the custom wood-work station built for this experience
5. the interior of the headsets are cloth and the spray would just keep them damp

Do any of you have these types of experiences up and running in your museum? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,