This paper explores how a legacy digital artefact can be adopted within formal education settings and looks at the pedagogical and other opportunities created by its use within three primary and secondary classrooms in the UK. Through a comparative case study, the paper investigates the potential of using a virtual 3D model of the 1938 British Empire Exhibition in formal educational settings and highlights a number of salient issues and challenges. As the data suggests, engagement with the model created opportunities for playful learning, facilitated motivation and collaboration, and enhanced student interest. However, participation was often compromised by technical inhibitors as well as the wider pressures of the curriculum, teacher time and assessment regimes. Last, the paper considers the range of actors and factors that influenced the experiences of teachers and students who engaged with the use of the 3D model and concludes by considering the implications of these findings.