Rediscovering the Empire Exhibition of 1938 in 3D
In 1938, more than 13 million people passed through the gates of Bellahouston Park to experience the Empire Exhibition — a spectacle of architecture, technology, propaganda and imperial ambition. Today, if you walk through the same park, you’d hardly know it ever happened. Only scattered remnants remain and, for many in Glasgow, the Exhibition has nearly faded from public memory.
But this historical moment still matters — not only as a dazzling display of interwar modernity and industrial pride but as a rich, complicated site for exploring narratives of identity, empire and power. And now, you can explore it for yourself.
Step Into 1938: A Fully Interactive 3D Reconstruction
We’re excited to share a downloadable 3D model of the entire Empire Exhibition, reconstructed and delivered through a Unity-based interactive experience. This isn’t just a digital replica — it’s a layered learning resource designed for both teaching and independent exploration.
Within the model you’ll find six annotated guided tours built around core themes:
Tait’s Tower, Scottish Identities, Hidden Histories, Colonialism, Industry, and Energy. Each tour integrates archival images and film, scholarly interpretation, community voices and reflective prompts that encourage users to think deeply about the Exhibition’s meaning.
Why This Matters Now
Although overshadowed by the outbreak of the Second World War, the Empire Exhibition was a major event in Britain’s social, cultural, industrial and political history — and it embodied a triumphalist imperial worldview that now invites reinterpretation. The AHRC-funded project Decolonising the British Empire Exhibition of 1938 through Augmented Reality Narratives (2024–25) used immersive technologies to revisit the past not as propaganda, but as a living, contested history.
Whether you’re a teacher, student, historian, community researcher or simply curious, this project opens up new possibilities for learning:
- See the Exhibition as it was experienced in 1938
- Interrogate the narratives that shaped it
- Reflect on its legacies — both local and global
Download the Resources
The interactive 3D model and supporting lesson plans are freely available to help bring this resource into classrooms, workshops and community learning settings.
https://sit.gsa.ac.uk/project/decolonising-augmented-reality
Download Augmented Reality app
Download lesson plans and school resources
This post is adapted from the original article published on Game-Based Learning in Higher Education. Read the full article here