First Year Seminar Students Create Interactive Digital Antiquity Book

In collaboration with Terence Clark, Matthew Betts, and Andrea Gilchrist of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities in the Department of History Shawn Graham's First Year Seminar 1405a, 'Digital Antiquity' class produced an augmented reality pop-up book of artifacts from the museum's storerooms.

Graham used 123D Catch to transform one-dimensional images into three-dimensional models, in conjunction with the Junaio augmented reality browser, turning an otherwise ordinary book into an intimate, three-dimensional experience. The result allows the viewer to interact with the artifact as an object, as if they were viewing it firsthand. All you need is a smartphone.

Known for his creative and innovative teaching methods and applying cutting edge technology to his courses, the aim of Graham's First Year Seminar was for students to explore antiquity through the use of digital media and to find a way of exposing hidden museum gems to a wider audience.

The final product is a twenty-first century popup book featuring Mesoamerica artifacts. When the reader holds their Smartphone or tablet camera over top of the books images, they are given a panoramic view of the artifact in question.

Watch Graham give a demonstration, discuss Augmented Reality, and describe the experience of implementing this project in a First Year Seminar

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