A New Project

I created an opportunity for myself using augmented reality to attempt to promote the museum's interactivity game as well as give a fresh digital makeover to the permanent exhibits. Jesus, another UH intern had a conversation with me regarding upgrading the current exhibits to give a new spark of excitement to the small museum. One major innovation we were referencing consistently was the implementation of augmented reality. The museum had planned to move forward with a QR code system to add new information to preexisting exhibits.

At night, I researched and downloaded an augmented reality educational app called HaloAR. This application allowed for an effortless setup of augmented reality using trigger images to display a digital world. After showing this technology to some co-workers the excitement was palpable and the project had the support needed to jumpstart the process. At first, the vision and ideas behind the project were initially quite grand spanning a large video game and in-house coding to create a custom app. At the end of the chaotic creativity, I chose to focus on creating an AR digital exhibit that provided more information and another means to explore the exhibit if guests were bored.

After a week into the project, we were given the chance to demonstrate the capability of the technology through an all-staff demo. There, I presented to a majority of the museum staff and explained the timeline of setup and what I need from the staff. I hoped that the presentation would excite the staff to contribute ideas to the project, as well as support the continuation of this project. However, it was met with, "that's cool but too tech-savy for me." I was deeply disappointed by their response. I wondered if my delivery of the content was not professional enough or if I presented the whole operation too quickly with too many details missing. Concerns regarding accessibility, ease of use, and legality of the content presented were core flaws that were referenced. Either way, the project looked to have a grim ending with very little in store for it. The museum staff decided the project would be diminished to an answer key for the brainteasers in the middle of the museum.

After a day of brainstorming ways to put my project back on the radar for the museum, I came up with a plan to finalize a working beta version with in-house created content to provide an optional experience as well as design a basic game that may go along with it. Jesus and I spent a week planning and creating in-house content using the resources from the museum to essentially provide free educational material to promote expanded knowledge that is not present in the museum exhibits. After this content surge, we also created physical markers to aid the visual experience of AR and hopefully promote curiosity about the markers leading to more participation in the free experience. On Friday, July 22nd, we will see whether or not our planning and preparations are met with a kind response from the museum staff.

This project has been a beast of its own. From designing one-pagers of informational brochures to promote and explain the project to troubleshooting ground-breaking technology, I have worked hours on end to try and get the museum to accept this project as a fully fleshed system that they can use for the future to create more accessible and updated content without having to spend a cent on new graphics, panels, or physical information. I hope they see the potential this new technology has in bringing easy information and entertainment to the museum industry. However, if they cannot see this as a viable option, I am considering consulting other museums or the AR industry to aim for this new educational and interactive form of learning.