Nydia: The Blind Flower Girl is an immersive, educational WebAR experience that lets users explore the tragic story behind the famous marble sculpture at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Created by developer Irina Fawcett and 3D artist Noah Ilbery, the experience uses 8th Wall Studio, VPS, and Gaussian Splat technology to reconstruct the world around Nydia—placing viewers in ancient Pompeii as Mt. Vesuvius erupts.
Anchored to the physical statue via VPS, the scene builds a richly detailed environment using Gaussian Splats, layered audio, and interactive hotspots. The result is a deeply atmospheric experience that blends culture, storytelling, and spatial technology.
We caught up with Irina and Noah to learn how they built it—and what advice they’d give to developers looking to experiment with spatial storytelling.