XR Montgomery Presents: Experiencing Black History in a New Way

For Immediate Release: Friday, February 23, 2024

For Immediate Release: Friday, Feb. 23, 2024

XR Montgomery Presents: Experiencing Black History in a New Way

Limited Tickets Still Available to Black History Month Digital Heritage Symposium Featuring Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences of African American History in Montgomery County

As part of Black History Month, Montgomery County and Montgomery Parks are pleased to present newly created Augmented Reality (AR) experiences as a new way to experience Montgomery County’s African American history. This innovative way of learning history through new technologies will be featured at the Digital History Symposium from 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

The event is being held in person at Brookside Gardens Visitors Center, and online via Zoom. The event is free but advanced registration is required. Participants may register to attend in person at bit.ly/XR-InPerson or online at bit.ly/XR-Online . Space is limited but a few seats remain.

The Brookside Gardens Visitors Center is located at 1800 Glenallan Ave in Wheaton.

“This is a first of its kind endeavor to utilize AR technology in Maryland to teach history and we are fortunate that this partnership has focused on the Black history of Montgomery County,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “I am a big believer that we need to understand our history to avoid the wrongdoings of our past. By utilizing new technologies such as augmented reality, we can provide new ways to explore history to reach and better engage more residents and younger residents that will help them better understand how to address and solve modern day problems and challenges. I appreciate the efforts of the XR Montgomery Partnership to provide this unique and important opportunity during Black History Month and look forward to seeing more work from them in this space.”

XR Montgomery, part of the County’s Department of Technology and Enterprise Business Solutions (TEBS), Montgomery Parks and the University of Maryland, have created eight AR experiences to help explore the history of Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park and the people who lived there. The AR experiences will allow visitors to use their mobile phone to see a park ranger avatar, manipulate 3D models of the cabin interior and exterior of the missing third cabin, play interactive games and see a flyover recreating the historical surroundings.

The Digital History Symposium will feature:

Demonstrations of the eight AR experiences to help explore the history of Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park and the people who lived there.
A panel discussion about how to use new technology to enhance the visitor experience and increase visitors to historical sites.
Opportunity to try the AR experiences on a mobile phone.

The XR Montgomery project was created by Montgomery County Chief Information Officer and TEBS Director Gail M. Roper. Collectively, Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) are referred to as XR or Extended Reality. The goal of XR Montgomery is to expand XR deployment and entrepreneurship in Montgomery County and to bring together and support organizations and individuals using XR in museums, libraries, parks, community centers and throughout the County.

The AR Experiences at Oakley Cabin are made possible by Montgomery County, Montgomery Parks, and the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation – Historical Preservation Program, as well as the University of Maryland’s Immersive Media Design program, Mixed/Augmented/Virtual Reality Innovation Community (MAVRiC), the Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture, and Arts for All initiative.

Release ID: 24-090
Media Contact:
Categories: Executive Office

For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=44807