“I encourage everybody to hop on Google and type in ‘national park’ in whatever state they live in and see the beauty that lies in their own backyard. It’s that simple.”
– Jordan Fisher, singer/songwriter
Earlier this month, the California Department of Parks and Recreation shared an exciting announcement that makes for a fun utilization of augmented reality (AR) technology for those who appreciate the outdoors and the beauty our state and national parks have to offer, beginning with its very own parks.
California State Parks launched ‘Virtual Adventurer,’ a new AR mobile app that will transform how park visitors connect to and interact with California’s most iconic locations in addition to its deep history and diverse cultural and natural landscapes.
Spanning across 9 participating state parks, including:
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Bodie State Historic Park
Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park
Jack London State Historic Park
Montana de Oro State Park
Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area (Oso Flaco Lake)
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park
Point Lobos State Natural Reserve
Sue-meg State Park
Diving into the mobile app’s underlying AR technology, Virtual Adventurer offers the public experiences that span from storytelling and holograms to 3D images and digital reconstructions that all highlight California’s various cultural, historic, and natural resources.
The development of Virtual Adventurer was led by TimeLooper Inc., an immersive digital experience and exhibition firm.
“[California] State Parks came to us with a vision to expand the scope of stories told in its parks in a manner that is highly immersive and relevant to today’s park visitors,” said TimeLooper Principal and Founder Andrew Feinberg.
Unique to the experience is the app’s dynamic and evolving storytelling, that has also been designed to be one of the most accessible mobile apps on the market, offering users access to Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant accessible PDFs, audio descriptions, audio captioning, high-contrast colors, dyslexic font, and more – all with the intention of ensuring the highest level of accessibility to anyone who wants to use immerse themselves in this application of augmented reality.
For example, the public can download and travel through Coyote Canyon in today’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, with Maria Jacinta Bastida, an Afro-Latina woman traveling with the Juan Bautista De Anza expedition, or see Chinatown reemerge from the sagebrush at Bodie State Historic Park.
Virtual Adventurer, according to California State Parks, will also be updated regularly to include newly added adventures and stories that help enrich the overall experience of spending time in these state parks.
“We’re excited to launch the Virtual Adventurer app that further provides opportunities for Californians to access the cultural, historic and natural resources found across our beautiful state,” said California State Parks Director Armando Quintero. “The app also supports and enhances the department’s Reexamining Our Past Initiative by developing content for parks that tells a more complete, accurate and inclusive history of people and places.”
Visitors are encouraged to scan the below QR code to get started exploring California’s state parks:
“Helping park visitors to create deeper and more meaningful experiences in state parks is vitally important to connecting us all to the rich history of these places,” said Parks California Community Engagement Director Myrian Solis Coronel. “Through this app and emerging digital technology, we hope these tools will help all visitors see themselves as part of these special places and feel a sense of belonging.” Parks California, along with other park partners like Jack London Park Partners, Point Lobos Foundation, Tribal Nations, and university partners are also supporting content development.
WATCH: Hypemoon’s Bon Jenn walks us through the new Apple Vision Pro VR headset.
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