Visualization of DDE-Outcrop 3D to Promote Public Education in Natural History Museums

The DDE-Outcrop3D plays an important role in the digitization of geological resources. By digitally preserving, presenting, and reconstructing classic geological outcrops worldwide, the DDE-Outcrop3D Project broadens the user’s fieldwork visions and perspectives, allowing convenient access to fieldwork data, and helping users alleviate constraints imposed by time, distance, and financial resources. This project enables users to partake in immersive, online scientific explorations and educational endeavors, which has significance for public education in natural history museums. Firstly, digital outcrops provide scientific and reliable references for the exhibition scene designing of museum galleries related to geological environments and natural ecology. Secondly, digital outcrops visualize geological knowledge in multimedia forms within museum exhibits, enhancing interactivity with visitors and improving the knowledge density and display efficiency per unit area. Lastly, digital outcrops extend beyond museum confines, supporting museum-school collaborative scientific curricula aimed at cultivating autonomous geological research skills among K-12 students. This paper provides an in-depth example of the DDE-Outcrops3D application at the Chengdu Museum of Natural History (also known as the Museum of Chengdu University of Technology), offering a detailed exposition of the technology’s substantial value in public education for natural science museums.