Journey with M. Curie in Virtual Reality
At the turn of the twentieth century, Madame Curie was awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics. Eight years later, she won a second Nobel Prize in chemistry for work in radioactivity. Curie’s scientific journey was not a smooth ramp up but one laden with large hurdles. Raised in Russian-occupied Warsaw, Curie spent six years working as a governess to pay for her studies at the Sorbonne. While at university, Marie had all the cards stacked against her – poor, a foreigner and a woman. And yet, she prevailed.
In M. Curie, trek back in time and step into Marie Curie’s shoes in virtual reality. Dive into her story. Engage with 19th century physics and chemistry apparatus, such as an electroscope, an electrometer and a spectroscope, to find what Curie unearthed: new elements (radium and polonium) that emitted strange invisible rays with no known source of energy. Solve puzzles that unlock special items. Experience the wonder, angst and joy of a woman who overcame adversity to become one of the world’s greatest scientists.
Finalist for Best Immersive Interactive VR and Official Selection, Qld XR Festival, 2023.
Official Selection, Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories, FIVARS 2023
Buy M. Curie on the Meta Horizon Store: https://www.meta.com/experiences/m-curie/7616724141790253/
Credits
Marie Curie (voice): Marina Petkovic, Theatre director, Voice & Speech Professor at Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb.
Pierre Curie (voice): Rémi Arnaud
Art, direction & development: J Dakota Powell, TimeWave Studio
Sound Effects: East Vertigo, TimeWave Studio
Music: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988 – Aria Da Capo &Variations 1 & 13, performer Shelley Katz. From Museopen (museopen.org)
Bibiliography:
Curie, Eve, “Madame Curie A Biography,” 1938, Vincent Sheean (Translator), Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., New York.
Curie, Marie, “Pierre Curie: With Autobiographical Notes,” 1923, Charlotte Kellogg (Translator), Vernon L. Kellogg (Translator), The Macmillan Company, New York.
Goldsmith, Barbara, “Obsessive Genius: The Inner World of Marie Curie,” 2005 (Reprint), W.W. Norton, New York.
Special thanks to Rita Turkowski, Oculus Start