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Attractions news 21.11.20: EPCOT | Academy Museum | #ShopMuseums

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Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, British Museum, #ShopMuseums, Imperial War Museums, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Hong Kong Palace Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Science Museum Group, Disneyland Resort, Liseberg, Oceana, Inspire Korea, Avengers Campus, Universal Orlando Resort, Universal Beijing Resort, EPCOT, AREA15, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Birmingham Museums, Missing Masterpieces.

Museums

hong kong palace museum
Palace Museum

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles has exceeded its pre-opening fundraising campaign goal of $388 million, with a closing donation from LAIKA taking the Academy Museum over the finish line.

The British Museum has announced a major archaeology project, which will be followed by the construction of the Edo Museum for West African Art in Nigeria. EMOWAA will house a comprehensive display of Benin Bronzes.

Museums Association, the oldest museums association in the world, announced the #ShopMuseums campaign to promote online museum shops ahead of Christmas 2020. The campaign includes 15 museums from the UK.

Imperial War Museums (IWM) launched the IWM Institute, a new innovation hub offering discussions, podcasts, debates, and original research projects, in order to provide a deeper understanding of war and conflict.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) is set to open the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building, completing the museum’s ambitious $450m expansion of the Susan and Fayez S Sarofim Campus, on November 21.

Hong Kong Palace Museum will display 160 “national treasures” from Beijing’s Palace Museum. In addition, the main structure is reportedly complete in West Kowloon Cultural District.

The Smithsonian Institution announced that the National Zoo and all eight of its recently opened museums will once again close in Washington, D.C., due to rising regional and national cases related to COVID-19.

Science Museum Group director and chief executive Sir Ian Blatchford released another statement outlining its redundancy plans and challenges ahead. Its forecasts for next year suggest revenues will be down by around £15m.

Theme parks

epcot transformation walt disney world
Disney

Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are expected to stay closed for the rest of 2020 and not reopen until 2021, as shared by Disney’s CFO Christine McCarthy during a conference call on November 12.

Liseberg has announced that construction is starting on its €110 million indoor water park, Oceana, which is currently scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2024. It will be uniquely themed and will feature 14 water attractions.

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment is bringing forward $200m originally planned for phase two of Inspire Korea to kick-start development of the integrated resort (IR) following delays due to COVID-19.

Disney updated fans about the next generation of experiences in development, including Avengers Campus, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and EPCOT, at the IAAPA Expo: Virtual Education Conference.

Universal Orlando Resort has unveiled its first-ever holiday tour, which boasts access to exclusive holiday experiences, including a private showing of ‘The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts Castle’.

Universal Beijing Resort has announced its first group of 21 official travel trade partners. UBR will offer convenient booking services, which includes theme park tickets, hotel rooms and seasonal events, for guests from China.

Disney provided an update on the historic transformation currently underway at EPCOT while speaking at the D23 Fantastic Worlds Celebration. The company shared more about Spaceship Earth, Cosmic Rewind and Harmonious.

Technology

area15 gallerie 360

AREA15, an experiential art and entertainment complex in Las Vegas, unveiled the dazzling drinks experience of Gallerie 360, located within The Portal, a 360-degree, 3D projection-mapped room.

Disney is creating a ‘theme park metaverse’, where physical and digital worlds converge. The metaverse experiences are driven by technology including IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR).

Oxford University Museum of Natural History is set to host an online, interactive challenge with presenter Steve Backshall called Mystery at the Museum. Users will go behind-the-scenes of the OUMNH.

Birmingham Museums has partnered with online art and game platform Occupy White Walls (OWW), allowing players to curate their own exhibitions in a virtual Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG).

Samsung launched a virtual exhibition called Missing Masterpieces, which is a digital collection of 12 iconic missing artworks from artists including Van Gogh, Monet, Cézanne, and Jean Baptiste Oudry.

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Bea Mitchell

Bea is a journalist specialising in entertainment, attractions and tech with 10 years' experience. She has written and edited for publications including CNET, BuzzFeed, Digital Spy, Evening Standard and BBC. Bea graduated from King's College London and has an MA in journalism.

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