The icebreaker Polarstern is the most spectacular exhibit of German maritime research. However, it is an exhibit that is constantly on a large (research) voyage. Playersjourney used a digital model of the Polarstern and placed it in the empty Bangert-Bau of the museum. With gesture control, visitors could move, scale, and even "look inside" the ship without any learning time. These three AR gesture stations were complemented by numerous 360° stations, where visitors had exclusive access to all the interior rooms of the research vessel. Additionally, Playersjourney programmed a mobile app, which was available as a teaser before the opening and transformed into a visitor guide at the opening.

It should be emphasized that the project 360° Polarstern was, to our knowledge, the largest VR, AR, and 360° video exhibition in Europe at the time. Moreover, it was thought crossmedially from the very beginning. The advertising announcement in the newspaper offered a QR code, with which the mobile AR application could be downloaded. The visitor guide was supplemented with printed information in the exhibition. Last but not least, the AR and 360° stations were intertwined with real exhibits of maritime research in the exhibition space, creating an analog-digital "total work of art" in this way.

Both technically and conceptually, this project offers numerous experiential insights that can easily be complemented, rethought, and be of interest for new projects. In particular, the combination of on-site experience, live-rendered 3D content using a game engine, as well as interactive 360° video material were crucial for the success of the exhibition from our perspective.