CyArk is an international non-profit organization dedicated to digitally preserving the world’s cultural heritage.

A Digital Museum of Cultural Heritage Sites

CyArk uses technology to ensure that the world’s cultural heritage sites are preserved — at least digitally — for future generations. The organization understands that the decline of culturally significant sites or structures is inevitable due to weather, human aggression, or the simple passage of time. Once they’re represented with a 3D model online, however, they can theoretically live forever in their digital form. Capturing 3D representations of monuments like the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Mount Rushmore is what CyArk does, and it does so in great detail. The organization has the goal to preserve 500 cultural heritage sites within the next five years.

An Ambitious Goal to Digitally Preserve 500 Cultural Heritage Sites

Each of the cultural heritage sites that CyArk has digitally preserved is available to be explored on the site. You can click and drag your way around the 3D model of a particular project, and you can also click “in-depth” to learn more about the site’s history and significance. There’s also an integrated map feature that puts each particular cultural heritage site into context with the larger world. There are several interesting locations available to be browsed and discovered on CyArk, and navigating the site is similar to walking through a digital museum. The site is using technology to further an important mission of cultural preservation, and it will be exciting to see what 3D models it creates next.