Hidden Cave Experience

VR Display of the Hidden cave interest in the desert, includes the VR experience title: Hidden Cave.

Overview

Hidden Cave is a cultural and scientific treasure located in Fallon, Nevada. Thousands of years of human and natural history fill the interior of the cave, attracting multiple teams of archaeologists in the mid-twentieth century. Since the 1980s, the Bureau of Land Management has allowed the public to tour the site in-person. Today we announce a new development: you can now visit Hidden Cave in virtual reality. The Hidden Cave Virtual Reality experience, designed by University Libraries’ @One Digital Media Team, includes a narrative tour of the cave, 3D artifacts you can pick up and handle, and multimedia information about the site, its formation, and its uses by Indigenous people for millennia.

Download the Virtual Reality Experience

Using the VR experience

Get help

For assistance downloading or viewing this VR experience please contact Luka Starmer: lstarmer@unr.edu.

Instructions

Click the download button
Unzip the file
Open the folder and run the SetupInstaller.exe file

Recommended specs

Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10
Processor: 64-bit, Intel i7 8700k or AMD Ryzen 2700X or greater
Memory: 16GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia RTX 3070 or AMD RX 6700 XT or better
DirectX: Version 11
Storage: 10 GB available space

VR experience features

Virtual campfire as featured in the experience

Hear from local Native voices

Virtual recreation of Lake Lahontan from the experience.

Witness the rise & fall of ancient Lake Lahontan

Cache pit artifacts, specifically an obsidian point, from the experience.

Uncover cache pit artifacts

View of the archaeological site simulation, including several tools and a view of the narrator, from the experience.

Inspect the archaeological site

A view of the cave's depth from the experience

Explore the depths of the cave

A view of a dry lakebed from the experience.

Surround yourself in the vast Nevada landscape

Behind the scenes

This project was a multifaceted collaboration in partnership with the University Libraries of the University of Nevada, Reno, the Churchill County Museum, the Churchill County Library, and Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Community Learning Center. Additionally, the Nevada State Museum facilitated the digitization of artifacts in their collections.

Tour elements

Hidden Cave interior | mobile version

View the Interior

Atlatl replica

View the Replica

Basketry fragment

View the Fragment

Basket weaving sample

View the Sample

Dig site textured

View the Dig Site

Sheep horn pendant

View the Pendant

Hidden Cave 360 Video

Curious what it is like to experience the Hidden Cave, but don't have any virtual reality gear? This video gives you a taste of what it is like to explore that space in 3D using just your browser.

View the video

Still from the 360 video, showing a desert landscape, sky, and credits from the title card for the video.

Dedication

This project is dedicated in memory of Dan Ingram

Special thanks

Nevada State Museum: Dr. Anna Camp, Dr. Gene Hattori

American Museum of Natural History: Dr. David Hurst Thomas & Dr. Lorann P. Pendleton

Churchill County Library: Carol Lloyd, Joe Salsman

Churchill County Museum: Teri Hedgpeth, Donna Cossette, Rae Sottile

Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Learning Center: Rochanne Downs, Austin Little

Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe: Ashley George

Far Western Anthropological Research Group, INC: Dr. Craig Young

Bureau of Land Management: Christine McCollum

Nevada Department of Transportation: Cliff Creger

University of Nevada, Reno: Geoff Smith

University Libraries: Kathlin Ray, Catherine Cardwell, Mark Gandolfo, Jill Stockton

Production team

Daniel Fergus, Interim Director of @One

Hadi Rumjahn, @Reality Virtual Reality Developer

Luka Starmer, Interim Manager of Digital Media Technology

Nick Gapp, Multimedia Production Specialist

Shawn Sariti, Digital Multimedia Production Specialist

Maryan Tooker, Media Production Specialist

Kyle Weerheim, Multimedia Production Specialist