An Interactive Augmented-Reality Tablet Application to Enhance Visitors’ Experiences in the Great Hall of the National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) was founded in 1863 and is located on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The mission of NAS is to elevate and foster a broad understanding of science. The organization oversees the National Research Council, which produces and promotes the adoption of independent, authoritative, trusted scientific advice to the federal government for the benefit of society.
Project Description
The IRC developed an iPad application to augment visitors’ experience of the Great Hall of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). The painted surface of the dome is 56’ high and was designed in 1924 by artist Hildreth Meière to celebrate and symbolize the history of science from that time. “Dome Explorer” is an augmentation of NAS’s dome in order to bring the elaborate details of the dome closer to the viewer with in-depth information and secondly over 80 interviews of top US scientists, sharing their insights about how their disciplines and science overall have evolved since 1924.
Project Examples
The main interface is spatially aligned with the NAS Great Hall, therefore holding up an iPad to the ceiling will bring the details of the ceiling closer to the viewer. The highlighted sections of the dome mural feature an in-depth exploration upon tapping.
Upon further exploration, the participant will be presented with an artistic representation of our contemporary understanding of sciences.
Twelve scientists, including a Nobel Laureate, discuss the scientific disciplines in over 80 clips.
“The terms used to describe the different disciplines are imaginary. They’re made up by people. They never made any sense. They never will make any sense. The problems that we need to solve, both intellectual problems, like what is life, and practical problems, like how do you run a megacity of 50 million people? There’s no discipline that actually covers those subjects as a single subject. You advance by crossing boundaries, by bringing together fields. The real challenge is how to educate scientists to able to do this.”
Dr. George Whitesides, Professor of Chemistry, Harvard University, and Woodford L. and A. Flowers University Professor.
Dome Explorer includes in-depth explanations of the sciences represented in the mural.
Collaboration
This project was created by the IRC in collaboration with the Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences.
Although the application is no longer available in the App Store, you can browse the gallery and check out the interviews on the website for this project by clicking the button below.
Researchers and Creators
Project Directors: Lee Boot, Associate Researcher, and JD Talasek, Director of the National Academy of Sciences
Collaborators: Cultural Programs of the National Academy of Sciences
Content Writers: Joyce Bedi, Thomas Burnett, Melinda Hough, Alana Quinn, Kevin Padian, JD Talasek, Joseph N. Tatwericz, Rick Welch
Programmers: Neal McDonald, Wallace Brown, and Mark Jarzynski
Photographer: Dan Bailey
Graphic Designers: Abbey Salvo and Chris Mahaffy
Imaging Research Center, UMBC © 2024