EUROPEAN PROJECT · JANUARY–DECEMBER 2025
Explore caves.
Understand their biodiversity.
ST3ER supported MuMa in improving an educational VR experience, studying cave tourism and sharing bat conservation with audiences in three European countries.
Results at a glance
- Two real cave environments: Nagüeles and Belda, in Málaga, digitised for the immersive experience.
- Three bat species: Myotis capaccinii, Barbastella barbastellus and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum modelled and integrated.
- Three national reports: qualitative studies of show-cave tourism in Spain, Portugal and Slovenia.
Developing MuMa Bat Cave Experience VR
During 2025, ST3ER helped improve MuMa’s existing prototype, combining reconstructed cave environments, real bioacoustic recordings and educational content in Spanish and English. Work included navigation, lighting, interaction, learning questions and compatibility with Meta Quest 3 and 3S.
Public activities provided opportunities to observe how visitors used the experience and collect feedback. Virtual interpretation allows audiences to discover underground ecosystems without physically entering a bat roost for each educational session.
Research into cave tourism and conservation
The project produced country-specific reports covering seven show caves in Spain, three in Portugal and three in Slovenia. The comparative work examined sustainability practices, potential risks and opportunities to improve management and environmental interpretation.
These are qualitative, consultancy-oriented studies. They support dialogue with cave managers and tourism organisations; they do not constitute an experimental measurement of changes in bat populations.
International outreach
A Bat Night with Grutas da Moeda, near Fátima in Portugal, presented the VR experience to visitors. The final report estimates that more than 200 people interacted with the stand and tried the experience during the event.
Activities at the Notranjski Museum in Postojna, Slovenia, on 5–6 September 2025 combined VR and in-person environmental education. These collaborations strengthened exchanges with organisations working in natural heritage and cave tourism.
Training and 30 hours of mentoring supported project planning, educational development and preparations for continuing the work.
Continuing the work
ST3ER helped connect biodiversity knowledge, immersive interpretation and tourism partnerships. MuMa continues developing these tools to help people understand bats and their habitats and to support more responsible relationships with nature.
ST3ER and European Union support
This project received indirect funding from the European Union’s COSME–SMP programme through an open call issued and implemented under ST3ER (grant agreement No. 101121592). MuMa subgrant: 101121592ST3ERI005.
The views expressed are those of the authors. The ST3ER consortium and the European Commission are not responsible for any use of the information.
Results summarised from MuMa’s final ST3ER report for the 2025 implementation period.