Experiencing Civil War History Through Augmented Reality: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Environment at Pamplin Historical Park

FAIN: MD-277054-21

Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA 24061-2000)
Paul D. Quigley (Project Director: June 2020 to August 2023)
Kathryn Jeanne Shively (Co Project Director: December 2020 to August 2023)
Tim Talbott (Co Project Director: December 2020 to August 2023)

Research and development of an augmented reality application that will enhance visitor learning about the lives of African Americans and the Civil War's impact on the environment. 

We are designing an Augmented Reality application for visitors to Pamplin Historical Park in Petersburg, Virginia. At its museums, battlefield, and historic homes, Pamplin HP educates large public audiences of all ages about Civil War history. Our application will share new stories, informed by current humanities scholarship, presented in innovative ways. Using mobile devices, visitors will learn about less familiar Civil War topics: interconnections between the environment and military affairs; the war’s transformative impact on African Americans and other civilians; and the benefits of reading wartime documents with a historian’s eye. On their phone or tablet, they will construct their own fortifications and overlay them onto the real world. They will experience multimedia guided interpretations of documents from this place, see video of historians sharing diverse perspectives, and more. Visualizing the past in new ways will inspire deeper empathy, curiosity, and understanding.