The Jorvik Viking Centre based in York is an educational exhibition, where visitors are guided around tenth century York while sitting in state-of-the-art time capsules. I’ve been wanting to visit this exhibition for the last three years, I wrote a case study on Jorvik for my MA Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture dissertation on immersive storytelling and how museums can implement this type of structure. It was wonderful to finally visit York and Jorvik after only seeing the display through an online video. Jorvik passed my expectations and is a fun and unique way to experience history. Jorvik combines the theming and immersive storytelling with a cart that snakes around the exhibitions with noise, smells, visuals and sound that paints a picture of what the viking were really like in York.
Before entering the museum, tickets must be bought either pre-booked or on the day. Then visitors are taken down a set of stairs into a room with a glass floor that is above the Coppergate archaeological dig site with various tools, artefacts and screens to explain the history of the dig. This is an interesting way to present the dig site, but the impact is lost slightly. Groups of visitors are herded in and asked to gather around a guide who explains the history, but this means that visitors can’t see the floor completely with everyone standing around. After a brief talk, visitors are encouraged to line up for the immersive experience. These carts are very slow and take visitors on a journey with a speaker that commentates on the scenes unfolding. To make this as accessible as possible visitors have a choice of language for their personal speaker. My only criticism of the immersive ride was that this could be anywhere, there wasn’t anything that really screamed Viking and their unique culture or beliefs. I wanted to learn more about why the Vikings chose to settle in York and not coastal towns with easy access to the open water. I think the answer is probably trade and access through the River Ouse. I wanted to learn about what happened to the people who were already living in York at the time and how the Vikings transformed the area. Interestingly, only two skeletons were found in the dig – why? I think a lot of information on the Vikings is based on evidence from other settlements, what was found at the dig site and assumptions, rather than concrete evidence as not much was left behind given how far back in history this happened. An activity that I found interesting was the coin casting where visitors can have a coin cast in the style of Viking coins, which is really unusual souvenir from the trip.
Overall, a unique experience and one that is must see for anyone visiting York and want to learn about the Vikings. It could be improved with a greater level of information inside the immersive ride. But nevertheless, a worthwhile visit.
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Amy is a writer and reviewer and is querying to literary agents her Pirates of the Caribbean X Bridgerton debut Adult fantasy novel. For more content click here to read book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey.
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