E-visiting a museum is not limited to browsing online artifacts or artworks. The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London is inviting mobile phone users to play games during the closure of the museum due to the COVID-19 epidemic. In the two easy and quick games below, you can create your own 18th-century wig designs or become a master craftsperson.

‘Design a Wig’

In the late 18th century, European women’s hair went crazy. Create and share your own hair-raising wig design. You can also see other people’s creations on the V&A’s Weibo account — “英国VA博物馆.”

The virtual wig design game, inspired by the V&A’s extensive decorative arts collection, starts with an illustrated blonde woman waiting for you to “comb” out her locks and sculpt a mammoth hairdo. Then, you get to choose your favorite hairpieces, such as feathers and ship ornaments and finally, apply colorful powder.

According to the V&A’s website, to make towering creations at that time, wig hair was built up with padding and hair pieces made from human or horse hair. Gooey pastes made from pig fat kept everything in place. A rich woman could spend all day with her hairdresser creating a huge hair style. Some designs created whole scenes with flags, cannons or a ship in full sail. Others were inspired by recent crazes like hot-air ballooning. The hair pieces and sticky styling paste were concealed by scented powder which came in different colors and was usually made of flour. A paper cone shielded the woman’s face from the clouds of powder.

‘Terrible Trades’

Can you become a master of your trade? Start the game as an apprentice of a tanner, an embroiderer or a gilder, and test your skills and know-how in grisly working conditions. How far can you go?

According to the V&A’s website, an apprentice lived and worked with a master craftsman for up to seven years. Apprentices didn’t earn any money and often their families had to pay the masters. Once an apprentice had finished apprenticeship, he or she would be called a journeyman or journeywoman, earn money and sometimes have to travel around to find work. Eventually, he or she might join a guild as a master craftsperson. The guild was the group that controlled and organized the craftsperson’s trade. As proof of skill, a masterpiece was needed.

There are three more games on the V&A’s website: https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/games-and-activities. “Secret Seekers” is for families to play when they visit the physical museum in London since players should follow the clues in the mobile game and unlock the secrets hidden around the museum. “Ommegang,” which is better played on computers or laptops, invites Internet users to discover details in a painting that depicts a huge annual procession in Brussels in 1615. “Minecraft V&A” needs to be downloaded before you explore your own Minecraft world.(SD News)