Augmented reality is a technology perfectly suited for one of the key functions of museums: interpretation. As AR technologies and platforms become more readily available and affordable, history and science museums are quickly finding uses for augmented reality both inside and outside the exhibit floor that incorporate additional detail and information right into the experience.

One of the easiest ways to visualize the potential of augmented reality is the ease with which it can make invisible things visible, such as the X-ray pictures or the preparatory drawings of a centuries-old painting, or to restore things to a previous state, such as illustrating the way the Berlin Wall appeared before it was torn down, in situ. Using simple off-the-shelf tools, museums are easily able to provide straightforward, yet engaging visuals and facts that are “layered” over objects or physical settings when viewed through their phones or tablets. Providing visitors layered information about an object or exhibition is a simple, non-invasive approach to giving users a deeper experience. In many ways, AR can be seen as an intuitive doorway through which data can be easily attached to real world objects, settings, and processes that facilitates a deeper meaning and understanding of what is being seen. Adding to the experience, most of the current tools do this in ways that the user can control and manipulate in real time.

Augmented reality offers visitors the ability to call up structural, x-ray, or other scientific information related to an object on demand, while having almost no impact on the physical space.

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