Mesa Verde Virtual Companion
Ball State Univeristy’s IDIA Lab has been contracted by the US Department of the Interior to develop virtual visitor experiences for the Mesa Verde National Park. The park preserves and interprets the archeological heritage of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from 600 to 1300 CE. Today, the park protects nearly 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.
The application will bring to life well-known museum dioramas and locative walking tours of the park. Augmented reality and interactive 3D experiences will help tell the stories of the UNESCO World Heritage site – including the transformation of static elements of the historic dioramas with animated figures and interactive elements. The application will be available on both Google Play and AppStore in 2021.