I’m a big fan of museums, especially history and art museums. So I was pretty excited when I saw an app that lets you explore artifacts right on your phone. No museum trip necessary. The app is called Civilisations AR. If the “s” in that word looks weird to your American eyes, it’s because the app was published by BBC and created by Nexus Studios. It’s a result of a BBC Two series that showcases artifacts and works of art across human history.
As soon as I opened the app, I was immediately guided through a tutorial narrated by a soothing British voice. And I was face to face with a 3D sarcophagus. The walk through taught me how to move the sarcophagus and how to make a pinching motion with my fingers to scale the size bigger or smaller. Clicking a flashlight at the bottom of the screen revealed the artifact’s “hot spots.” I could use a flashlight to see the mummy within and click on speaker icons where a narrator told me information relating to archaeological discoveries about the mummy. Another small book icon contained a short article about the history of the artifact.
After playing with all the apps features, I was left to my own devices. The augmented reality feature allows you to explore artifacts and artwork as if if they are actually in front of you. Bring the sculpture, the “The Kiss” by Auguste Rodin right to your classroom. To choose which artifact to view, users explore a digital globe. A user can explore all the hot spots, or limit the results and artifacts to explore ones that relate to topics like “Faith,” “The Human Body,” and “Progress and Modernity.” All of the artifacts are real and look incredibly real. As I viewed a Corinthian Helmet from Greece (500 – 600 BC), I was able to restore the gray color of the helmet to its original gold color. As I rotated the helmet, it made noises like I was actually touching the metal. Just looking at pictures or reading about it, I wouldn’t have been able to experience what this artifact was like when people were actually using it. This app brought history to life right in front of me.
The information that students can hear and read on the app is unbiased and factual. Information discusses the history of the artifact, where the artifact was discovered, and puts it into historical context. There are links to more information, and websites to the museums that house the artifacts. So students can begin to research on their own and gather information that pertains to their interests. Users can scale and see the actual size of artifacts and zoom in to the tiniest details. It can be a little tricky to move the artifacts around exactly where you want them to, and pinching the artifacts to size sometimes doesn’t always go to the way you want it. So there is a bit of a learning curve.
I can see this app working really well in middle school and high school libraries. Students can explore the app on their own or librarians could design passive program challenges, like scavenger hunts. Obviously, I would recommend this app for social studies teachers and librarians. But this could also work with any unit on art history, the human body, or religion across subjects. If students are learning about Egypt, mummies, and pharaohs, students can explore the outside and inside of a sarcophagus. Then the students might connect to what they learn more. Plus, the technology will motivate them to learn. This app could also be used in research and to identify where certain artifacts came from. Lines on the globe connect each artifact to each other, so students can begin to explore the relationships between the world’s nations and their histories.
This would also be exciting for any units about artists, and their lives and work. It’s like a museum experience, but students don’t have to worry about admission fees or transportation. This app really makes knowledge accessible, which is also what libraries are all about. The only downfall, is that users are limited to what artifacts the app presents. If they needed a specific one for a unit, but it’s not on the app, they may be out of luck. And I do think it’s possible to use this in an elementary library. If an elementary librarian that thinks the reading level is too much for their students, then they could use an iPad to show students about artifacts that relate to curriculum and help them learn how to touch the screen to manipulate the items.
Overall, using the app is fun and informational. I would recommend this to any educator that’s interested in bringing the museum experience into their classroom.
Gabrielle Weiss Blog 