Augmented reality (AR)
Augmented reality (AR) blends the real and digital worlds, creating an experience where physical space is enhanced with virtual elements. Through a smartphone, tablet, or AR glasses, visitors can see exhibits come to life—images, animations, or 3D models appear and follow their movement. In museums, AR doesn’t replace physical artefacts; it enriches them with an additional layer of storytelling. Visitors can, for example, view a digital reconstruction of an ancient building, revived historical scenes, or hidden details revealed through touch and movement.
How AR technology works
AR systems combine a camera, sensors, and advanced software that recognises the environment and precisely places digital objects into the real world. Thanks to this, 3D models, animations, or text remain “anchored” in space, responding to the viewer’s angle and movement. The digital content doesn’t feel like a projection, but like part of the real environment—floating above exhibits, revealing additional information, or bringing historical scenes to life.
Use in museums
In museums, augmented reality creates a bridge between a real artefact and its story. Visitors can see what an object looked like in its original form, how it was used, or how it changed over time. At archaeological sites, AR can reveal lost structures, while in galleries it can uncover hidden layers of paintings, sketches beneath the paint, or videos showing how a work was created. AR guides can offer interactive content, quizzes, and personalised routes, making museum visits more engaging and accessible to different generations.
Creative installations and artistic experience
Increasingly, augmented reality is becoming part of contemporary artistic concepts. Museum walls can come alive with animation, sculptures can turn into digital stories, and visitors discover hidden layers of an exhibition through their own movement or gaze. Such installations blur the boundary between reality and the virtual, making each visit a personal experience of exploration and discovery.
Beyond the limits of the space
AR content can continue to live on after a museum visit through mobile apps that allow visitors to replay content or discover new stories beyond the physical venue. In this way, augmented reality extends the reach of exhibitions, connects visitors with the museum, and builds an ongoing relationship between audiences and the story.