Work

A unique and unprecedented digital museum sponsored by BBC Radio 4 and the British Museum.

The BBC joined forces with the British Museum for an original and unprecedented public service partnership focused on world history. At its heart is a landmark series on BBC Radio 4 called ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’, a global story told through the British Museum’s unparalleled world collection.

Each episode of the radio series features an item from the British Museum’s extensive collection, tapping into the unique power of objects to tell stories and make connections across the globe.

The online project extends beyond the landmark Radio 4 series; partnerships with 350 museums across the country, a 13-part television series on Children’s BBC (CBBC) and learning initiatives through BBC Schools and the British Museum have been established. Our job was to create the legacy of ‘A History of the World’.

Designed as an immersive website with intuitive time-based navigation, ‘A History of the World’ uses explorative technologies like deep zoom to send users on a creative voyage through history. This journey, coupled with the ability for users to add their own artefact and comments plus a continually changing ‘object of the day’ promotion, not only helps to maintain the users’ interest but also encourages them to play and learn about world history.

Technically, the website was built using The BBC Platform and incorporates many different BBC systems to enable the seamless integration of programme content with object information from both users and museums across the country.