Verizon has teamed with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art on a discovery app called Replica that lets consumers scan artwork to generate digital collectibles. The augmented reality Replica experience lets museum visitors scan items using a mobile app that stores them to Roblox as objects or avatar accessories. Roblox account holders can also virtually explore the Met’s facade and partake in other immersive experiences. The effort follows a previous Verizon collaboration with the museum and indicates the way institutions can leverage AR to engage consumers.

“Museums have been exploring the use of AR technology to enhance their visitor experience for years, but Verizon and the Met’s partnership offers a unique opportunity to link the real-world experiences with the still-nascent metaverse,” writes Marketing Dive, pointing out that “the move could help the Met stay relevant with younger, digitally native consumers, while also offering Verizon an opportunity to shore up a stronger connection” with museum patrons.

“Play with five thousand years of art and bring new, art-inspired wearables into your Roblox metaverse,” writes the Metropolitan Museum of Art, suggesting “perhaps you’d like to run around in Van Gogh’s straw hat from the painting Self-Portrait with a Straw Hat or maybe try out Hatshepsut’s regal headcloth.”

Replica is stocked with wearables inspired by the museum’s collection of 1.5 million objects. A total of 37 pieces of artwork were selected for the initial Replica AR experience. Verizon SVP of Marketing and Creative Kristin McHugh said in a news release that the Replica technology creates “new possibilities for art education.”

“Visit The Met. Enter the metaverse,” touts the museum’s promotional tagline for the Roblox AR experience, available for iOS and Android. After downloading the app, Met visitors are instructed to “follow the in-app map and clues” to find scannable artwork locations. But even adventuresome art lovers who can’t make it to New York can visit the Met virtually on Roblox to leverage Replica.

“Replica builds on the Met and Verizon’s existing joint effort from 2021, ‘The Met Unframed,’ another gamified art experience that featured over a dozen digitized galleries and nearly 50 artworks powered by Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband,” writes The Drum, which credits Unit9 with ideating the creative and Ode to Joy with the marketing campaign.