Ayala Museum’s dioramas, which depict iconic scenes in Philippine history, are being brought to life with a dynamic 3D Augmented Reality (AR) application introduced by the museum in partnership with The Harish and Johnsen Group. It is the first 3D-on-3D augmented reality feature offered by a museum in the Philippines and Asia.
The dioramas are part of the inaugural exhibition of Ayala Museum when it opened in 1974. They were designed to be a comprehensive visual narrative of the story of the Philippine people in a way that compresses extensive research on the events, architecture, costumes, technologies and topographies of the times they represent.
“An iconic part of childhood for many a Filipino thanks to school tours and family visits to the museum, the Dioramas were envisioned to be a compelling way to tell the rich history of our country,” described Mariles Gustilo, Senior Director for Arts and Culture of Ayala Foundation, Inc.
The new Android-based Ayala Museum AR app, conceptualized, designed and developed by Harish & Johnsen, further supported by Globe, Avida Land, and Power Mac Center, can be downloaded from Google Play. Upon opening the app, place your smartphone in front of one of AR-ready dioramas and watch these historic scenes come to life by exciting animations, realistic sound effects, and voice narrations. So bring a headset with you.
If you’re not an Android phone user, you may use one of iPod Touch units being rented out by the museum for Php95.
“We are proud and honored to share with Ayala Museum one of our core digital solutions,” said Jhoanna Feliz Serrano, President & Marketing Director of The Harish & Johnsen Group. “We hope the new Diorama Experience in Augmented Reality can strengthen the Filipino’s appetite in imbibing our history, culture and nationalism.”
“More than just claiming a pioneering stance in both platform technology and art category, the Ayala Museum and The Harish & Johnsen Group partnership purports to create a collaborative fusion of the arts with the evolving digital technology era,” added Serrano.