Weinberg Staff had the opportunity to visit the fifth floor of Northwestern Library for a personalized demonstration of “Augmented Curiosities” in August.
“Augmented Curiosities” is a project by Craig Stevens, PHD candidate in Anthropology. With NUIT’s Media and Technology Innovation group, they digitized five artifacts from the Herskovits Library of African Studies for visitors to interact with in both AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) environments.
For the AR experience, staff members used an iPad to scan a QR code and manipulate the digital 3D versions of each artifact, stretching and turning them around on the iPad.
Carrie scans the QR code of the doll artifact
Amanda and Laura look at their artifacts with iPads
Craig Stevens shows Ana Camino (WCAS Chemistry) how to use the iPad for the AR experience
Curator Esmaralda Kale shows Elise how to manipulate the artifacts on the iPad
For the VR experience, staff members donned a Metaquest Headset and were able to remove the virtual representation of the objects from a shelf while a video played, allowing them to learn more about the artifact from subject matter experts.
Annerys Cano (History) tries out the VR headset
Ana tries to open the virtual door to the cabinet
The Herskovits Library is a hidden gem at Northwestern – it is the largest collection of Africana in the world. Many thanks go to Esmaralda Kale, its curator, and Gene Kannenberg for their help with arranging and executing these demonstrations.