Skin & Bones Augmented Reality App

Skin & Bones is a mobile app featuring augmented reality technology, created for the Bone Hall at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

I co-produced, designed, and created content for this tool, which was developed to engage visitors with animal anatomy and evolution. The app includes stories about the animals’ natural history, interviews with the scientists who study them, key scientific concepts they represent, and explanations of how their bones function. These are delivered through 32 videos, four games, and 10 augmented reality experiences showcasing 13 animals whose skeletons are on display in the Bone Hall. The app is no longer available to download..

Skin & Bones is the result of a collaboration among many talented professionals, including museum curators, educators, software developers, animators, and audio and video producers. I created the 2D and 3D illustrations using commercially available software and a range of imaging techniques, including 3D scanning, optical scanning, photogrammetry, CT, and micro-CT scanning. The user interface was inspired by the retro aesthetic of the Bone Hall, a space designed in the 1960s that reflects the tradition of classic natural history museum exhibits.

This project was part of my doctoral research, and multiple journal articles have been published on the use of the app and augmented reality technology in the Bone Hall and in museums more broadly. You can read the abstracts and download the full articles on the publications page, and learn more about my research here.

The app received a prestigious Gold MUSE Award for Games and Augmented Reality, presented annually by the American Alliance of Museums. It also garnered significant media attention, including coverage in The Washington Post.