New immersive D-Day exhibit opens at Airborne and Special Operations Museum

The Airborne and Special Operations Museum in Fayetteville has opened up a new 3D exhibit to help people learn about D-Day.

On June 6, 1944, members of the 82nd Airborne Division fell from the sky on their mission to liberate France.

The exhibit uses a HistoPad that can put visitors inside of a C-47 aircraft moments before the 82nd Airborne Division jumps into the Sainte-Mère-Église in France.

The moment depicted on the digital exhibit is the famous parachute jump of Private First Class John Steele — a paratrooper that got stuck inside a church chapel's clock after jumping.

In addition to the 3D exhibit, museum staff has paired physical artifacts —donated by the paratroopers — to give visitors a full D-Day experience.

Two of the designers of the 3D exhibit were at the museum to talk about why they decided to create the digital exhibit.

Burno De Sa Moreir, one of the designers, said he hopes to get more young people engaged in learning history.

"It makes more sense for them to understand what happened," he said about the exhibit. "Also, to relate to it in a manner that they are excited."

The HistoPad also turns still images into actual footage shot on D-Day.

The exhibit will be at the Airborne and Special Operations Museum until March 2022.