App helps enhance science museum experience
Through Jan. 14, Science Museum Oklahoma guests with a smartphone or tablet in hand can see a giraffe walk down a hallway, take look around Vincent Van Gogh’s famous “Bedroom in Arles,” see a space shuttle launch and much more thanks to augmented reality.
The experience is the work of ReLiveIt, an Oklahoma City-based startup that has developed an app designed to enhance the visitor experience at museums, historical sights and tourist attractions. Dubbed the “Museum of Augmented Reality,” ReLiveIt’s popup museum is on Science Museum Oklahoma’s second floor and is included with general admission.
With the ReLiveIt app on their smartphone or tablet, guests can point their device at the text panel next to each of the exhibit’s artifacts. The action will trigger a unique augmented reality experience for each item that includes CGI objects and animals, time-lapse videos and green screen videos with narrators sharing the unique story behind each object.
“We are excited for the opportunity to host ReLiveIt and give our guests the chance to not only explore museum artifacts at a deeper level, but also to experience a technology they may not have seen before. We work every day to reveal the wonder and relevance of science — an experience like this may spark a curiosity in a child that could last a lifetime,” said Sherry Marshall, president and CEO of SMO.
Included among the 19 artifacts in the pop-up museum are four from SMO’s collection — a Boeing Robotic Air Vehicle 200 Series Engine, space food, a model of a NASA space shuttle and a 1939 World War II emergency parachute. Other items include an OKC Energy jersey, a weather balloon, a Greek wine jug and recognizable prints from art history like Van Gogh’s “Bedroom in Arles” and Edvard Munch’s “Scream.”
A limited number of tablets are available for loan to museum guests when ReLiveIt staff is on-site, however guests are encouraged to use their own smartphones and tablets and to download the app before arriving at the museum. The app is currently available in Apple’s App Store.
For more information about Science Museum Oklahoma, call 6026664 or go to www. sciencemuseumok.org.