Integrating Historical Content with Augmented Reality in an Open Environment

Museums offer visitors a variety of historic content. However, museums still rely on traditional methods of delivering content to visitors through the use of signage to compliment an exhibit. A research study was conducted to determine the feasibility of developing Mobile Augmented Reality experiences for a museum in an open environment. Three examples of AR experiences were investigated. First, the Serpentine Path AR experience is presented, providing contextual AR, showing the development of a historically significant garden pathway with primary source historical documents, and images. The Horse Chestnut Tree AR experience follows, presenting a miniature 3D model of a tree that is a vital part of the outdoor museum grounds. The Main House AR experience illustrates AR over time, showing the contrasting progression of a home and surrounding foliage. Through mobile delivery, users are provided with an AR experience either on the physical site grounds or from a remote offsite location. Approximately two-thirds of the users (68%) considered the AR experience good for the Horse Chestnut Tree experience, with 90% of the users responding that the Serpentine Path AR experience, which included audio, provided access to historical content they would not receive anywhere else. Similarly, 96% of the users felt that the Main House AR experience provides unique access to historical content which was not available elsewhere. Evaluation of the mobile AR experience identified areas where users learned more, based on the information provided to them during their visit, with the identification of areas for future work.