Archaeological visitor centre to be established in Aquincum

An archaeological heritage and tourist visitor centre will be established in Aquincum with EU assistance. Under the development program entitled “Pannonian Province Project”, the area of the museum in Óbuda will include a virtual experience space with interactive games and a Roman playground for the children, as well as a reconstructed Roman house. 
In addition to the 300 million HUF granted by the National Development Agency, the city of Budapest will assist the programme launched this April with 33 million HUF. The program is expected to be completed in July 2011, said Paula Zsidi, director of the Aquincum Museum, at the project’s press conference on Thursday in Budapest. The developments include a reception wall following the line of the Roman city wall, incorporating original ruins, an information centre, a virtual experience space, a Roman playground and a reconstructed Roman house. The family-friendly Roman playground will accommodate the little ones with a labyrinth, a memory game, a climbing frame and a seesaw. Each of these toys will be connected to ancient mythological figures, whose name will be displayed on information boards. A pipe organ will also be installed for the visitors to play on. 
In the virtual experience space, visitors will be able to play and test their knowledge with unique ancient themed games, such as interior decoration, dressing, archaeological and war games. The reconstruction of the Roman house will be carried out using a publication prepared at the time of the excavation. With the help of this document authentic interior spaces can be created, explained Paula Zsidi, adding that the public can walk from the accessible house to a lookout tower, which will offer a good view of the ruins park. By the end of the project, 1,108 square metres of new establishments will be added to the museum, 12,000 square metres of outdoor space will be renewed, and new visual elements will be installed for the visitors, pointed out the director. 
Last year the Hungarian section of the Roman border line – the “limes” – whose most significant town was the provincial centre of Aquincum, was inscribed on UNESCO’s official World Heritage List, , which gives a particular relevance to the development of this institution which belongs to the Budapest History Museum.