Remember the dioramas? They were the best. I would use any excuse to grab a shoebox, fire the hot glue gun (okay, Daddy took care of that) and strategically place tigers and plastic shrubs in their tiny cardboard habitat. I may have learned something too, but that’s beside the point. I was a little god with a world of my own creation in my hands.
This is not much different from the sense of wonder I now felt as I saw a miniature prehistoric habitat come to life on my dining room table. This little bit of magic happened courtesy of Museum Alive, an augmented reality app for iPhone available today with narration from none other than Sir David Attenborough. It’s an extension of it Living Natural History Museum film and includes three interactive AR displays.
Each exhibition features an extinct animal in a recreation of its private habitat. The application directs you to find a flat surface and pinch to enlarge the image at the right scale. That done, the habitat comes to life and a 3D animation begins with the narration of Attenborough. You can move your phone to get a different view while watching a saber-toothed Smilodon track and hammer out its unsuspecting prey.
My only disappointment with the app is that there are only three of those AR displays. There is promise for a fourth addition of a dodo, but it is unclear whether the application, which costs $ 2.99, will have updates in addition. I can see the kids enjoying the experience very much, but probably losing interest soon after exploring the current three exhibitions. Maybe it’s the right time to pop the shoe boxes and the hot glue gun.