Museum + Heritage Show: Some FAQs worth sharing

Katherine Pearson | Director & Lead Producer |

FAQs from the Museums + Heritage Show

Our presentation of our new AR tour app builder platform at the Museums + Heritage Show was a great success. We had the opportunity to engage with over 80 individuals who were eager to learn more about AR tours and how they could enhance visitor engagement on their sites. They had some truly insightful questions that are worth sharing. 

What do visitors have to do to participate?

They must first download your app from the App Store or Google Play. Then they can play!

    1. Create a player profile – Players can use face filters and decorations to create unique profiles (optional but great fun!)
    2. Follow clues to find hidden amulets or coins – Amulets or coins are ‘attached’ to the points of interest you want visitors to discover. You create clues that will help them find them.*
    3. Unlock AR rewards - Successfully finding and saving previously hidden amulets or coins will unlock AR rewards. Players are then encouraged to take and share photos of their AR rewards.
    4. Claim certificates - Players can claim certificates celebrating their finding and collecting skills at different stages in their journey. These PDFs sent via email depict their player profile and achievement level.
    5. Take AR rewards home - Players must be onsite to unlock AR rewards, but once collected, they stay in their app to be played with anywhere. 

*Note – This is not a mapping app. We want to deliver a heads-up experience. Following clues will encourage visitors to engage and discover more.

What are AR rewards? And do you make them, or do I need to sort that out?

AR rewards are digital files, images, 3D objects, films, and animations that are adapted to operate as part of an augmented reality experience. They are presented in front of the camera view, so they look like they exist in the real world. 

Either we can provide design specifications for your designers so they know what to create, or we can make your AR rewards for you.

What do we need to do to create an AR tour?

You need to:

    1. Identify 9 to 21 points you want visitors to discover.
    2. Create clues that will help visitors to find the points of interest identified.
    3. Create a headline or key fact about each point of interest*.
    4. Decide what AR reward you want to attach to each point of interest.
    5. Decide on an app name, icon and design theme.

*Optional - Additional multi-media content can be presented in the More section of the app.

We can help support your team by running a ‘Create an AR tour in a day’ workshop onsite or online.

Does my AR tour look like everyone else's?

Structurally, all AR tours are the same: follow clues, find coins or an amulets, and unlock AR rewards. This enables us to offer you such a good deal on price. However, each AR tour app looks and feels very different and is bespoke to your collections, settings, and stories.

If you want to introduce a new feature, we can work on it with you.

Can I offer more than one tour?

Yes, of course. You can present as many tours as you wish on your AR tour app.

Do you need good Wi-Fi for the tours to work? Because ours is awful!

A Wi-Fi connection is not required once the app is downloaded (which needs Wi-Fi or data). 

Promoting your AR tour via digital tickets is a good idea, so the app is downloaded before a visit. A good Wi-Fi signal at your Front of House would also help facilitate downloads. We can help with that if required. 

I am interested in using this to provide some interpretation about archaeological finds and building ruins. When you are only looking at a few stones in the ground, it is hard to imagine what was there in the past! What are my options in terms of presenting content?

We have designed the app so that you can adopt a layered approach to providing content.

Top layer, game layer: You use this layer to provide clues about the location of your target exhibit or heritage site, plus some headline information about the specific point of interest.

Further information option: Players can access additional multimedia information about the target exhibit or heritage site by tapping a small (i) button on the clue profile screen and via the More section of the app.

We are proud to have these companies as our supporters and investors.

Creative England European Space Agency Northstar Ventures UK Research and Innovation