Case Study 15: Anne Frank virtual museum

Enter Prinsengracht 263 via the internet

Online in 2010

The Anne Frank House is co-operating with LBi Lost Boys to create an online version of Prinsengracht 263, the house where people lived in hiding during the Second World War. In a three-dimensional online environment, visitors will be able to explore the spaces of the house, as they were during the war. The online hiding place contains a great deal of information about Anne Frank and the Second World War. Every space contains informative films and text about:

- the people in hiding

- the people who helped them

- daily life in the secret annex

- the events in the outside world

- objects contained in the space

In the online version of the hiding place, visitors to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam will find additional, in-depth materials that add a new dimension to their experience before, during and after their visit. Those who aren’t able to visit the Anne Frank House will be able to make use of its rich collection of information and items online.

Virtual museum

The online hiding place is part of the virtual museum, the future online offer of the Anne Frank House. The virtual museum will be the central point for knowledge sharing, news and events and educational activities related to Anne Frank, the Second World War, the persecution of the Jews and related current themes. In addition to the virtual version of the hiding place, the virtual museum will include a Collection Browser and a Time Line.
The virtual museum offers clear starting points for various kinds of online information and collection items. Using the Collection Browser, visitors can search the entire online collection, using keywords and filters. The Time Line offers visitors a fascinating way to gain an overview of Anne Frank’s life while placing it in the historical context of the period of 1929 – 1945.

Why and online version of the house?

Roughly one million people visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam each year – the maximum possible number. For various reasons, not everyone can visit the house: they live too far away or are hindered by their physical condition. And because of limited space, only a fraction of the complete collection can be shown in the museum. 

In 2010 the Anne Frank House will have existed 50 years as a museum. This is the right moment to expand access to the Anne Frank House and to the collection online. The development of the online hiding place has been made possible in part by a contribution from the BankGiro Lottery.

Language versions

The online hiding place will first be offered in an English and Dutch version. We aim to provide versions in other languages in the future.

Source: www.annefrank.org

Sneak preview of the virtual museum (Anne Frank YouTube channel)