Politehnica University Timișoara (UPT), through the Digital and Distance Learning Education Department, the UPT Technical Museum and the Multimedia Center, with the support of the E³UDRES² European University Alliance, welcomed over 400 visitors at the UPT Technical Museum during the European Night of Museums 2026, on Saturday, 23 May 2026.
Children, students and senior visitors took part in an interactive and educational experience, exploring the history of information technology and the latest achievements in virtual and mixed reality developed within the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara cultural project. Among the technological highlights, visitors discovered a new AR app for interactive 3D viewing of cultural heritage objects, developed by the CeL & CM teams, and explored the latest VR and mixed reality applications developed within the Spotlight Heritage Timișoara project, which brought significant landmarks of Timișoara to life through cutting-edge digital technologies.
Guided tours and virtual reality
Visitors also embarked on a guided journey through the history of information technology, as the CeL team led dozens of guided tours around the MECIPT-1 prototype — Romania’s first academic computer, dating from 1961 — walking audiences through the evolution of computing and the key milestones that shaped the sector, from early machines to modern technology. The VR application “Bell Labs Expo”, created by UPT students to mark the 100th anniversary of Nokia Bell Labs, completed the technological strand of the evening by tracing the development of communications devices from the first transistor to today’s smartphones. Alongside the technology exhibits, two artistic installations added depth and creative dimension to the evening. Physic AI Garden presented a dynamic virtual ecosystem populated by botanical and mycological virtual entities, while Patterns of Poetry explored the Timișoara landscape through the interplay of poetry and colour. Augmented reality games facilitating interactive engagement with artefacts from the urban cultural heritage completed what proved to be a rich and varied evening for visitors of all ages.
Links
➝ Article on elearning.upt.ro
Article created by: UPT
