Egg timer, Coke bottle and a skull cast: VR puts Burns memorabilia in reach

A VR recreation of Alloway Auld Kirk, the setting for his supernatural poem, Tam o’Shanter. Photograph: The University of Glasgow

Guests attending Burns Night suppers this month can get unexpected help in appreciating Scotland’s national bard – thanks to virtual reality. The Art of the Burns Supper has been created by Glasgow University researchers and takes participants on virtual trips that reveal the stories behind his poems and songs and his love of whisky – and haggis.

The VR experiences have been created by scanning items from Burns collections across Scotland as well as key sites and places in his life. The result is an eclectic vision of the poet whose birthday is celebrated by Scots across the world on 25 January.