The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Decoding the Temple of Dendur

Challenge – The Temple of Dendur is one of the Met’s most photographed monuments, yet its history remains unfamiliar to most visitors. The Department of Egyptian Art sought a way to reveal the temple’s full story.

Solution – Atopia collaborated with Met curators to create Dendur Decoded, a four‑act VR and WebGL journey that transformed archives into interactive storytelling. Over 150 archival pieces and UNESCO footage were woven into Atopia’s platform:

• Act I – Visitors roam inside and outside the temple for the first time, guided by scavenger hunts and interactive hotspots.

• Act II – A 3‑D/360° film is enhanced by Atopia’s content pop‑ups, turning it into an interactive documentary where viewers can pause and explore deeper context.

• Act III – Guests reassemble the monument in a puzzle‑game, paralleling the museum’s own reconstruction.

• Act IV – A contemplative space showcases past MetLiveArts performances and invites visitors to leave voice‑note reflections.

Results – The project offers a new model of digital access: a participatory story that viewers can explore online without a one‑off production. Atopia’s scalable infrastructure—hotspot and pop‑up tools, interactive 3‑D spaces—translates archival depth into an experience audiences remember and share. The result underscores Atopia’s ability to build large, custom experiences that become living resources rather than static exhibits.