Layers of History: Experiencing May 4, 1970 and Its Legacy

FAIN: MT-258880-18

Kent State University (Kent, OH 44242-0001)
Paul Haridakis (Project Director: June 2017 to May 2021)

Prototyping of an augmented reality experience on the campus of Kent State University examining the history and memorialization of the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings.

The project aims to create an augmented reality (AR) application to engage the public with humanities themes and interpretation of historical events surrounding the May 4th shootings that took place on the campus of Kent State University in 1970, during which Ohio national guardsmen killed 4 students and wounded 9 others. The project will create a freely accessible and cross platform website that offers an augmented reality tour of important May 4 landmarks at Kent State. As we prepare for the fiftieth commemoration, this project will help visitors better understand the landscape of both memory and history of the 17.24 acres recently designated the Kent State Shooting National Landmark. By virtually reconstructing buildings and landscapes we can help visitors better understand the events of May 4 and the larger struggle to memorialize and commemorate the victims. The humanistic ideals of citizenship, free speech, protest, and excessive use of force lay at the heart of this project.