Controversy surrounds the use of technology in museums.  If the point of being in a museum is to look closely at original objects, then how do museum educators encourage people to not just look at their devices?  We found that directing visitors to study the art through a question often led to further observation of the art when using the auras we developed.  We believe that finding some way to hold visitors accountable to answering these questions through an additional activity or engagement strategy might support further exploration of the works of art.

Software

Aurasma was a free application by Hewlett Packard.  The application was discontinued without a replacement app.  Since that time, other technologies, such as CultureConnect have created ways for artwork to trigger content.  Augmented reality (AR) had a certain “wow factor” in that it would trigger an overlay that made the artwork have a life of it’s own.

Questions remain about the viability of this technology.  The time and man power required to research, design and create the augmented reality and videos are intense, and while many dynamic people supported this project and the creation of the auras in Arasma, those resources are not sustainable.  We continue to search for other AR applications that allow for an ease of use and a lot of creative license to build in choices, questions, videos and other interactive content.