Skin & Bones

Name: Skin & Bones
Author: Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution

VALIDATED

Proven effective in research studies

For:General Public & Enthusiasts

Free

Download on the App Store

App Summary

Skin & Bones is an educational augmented reality app designed to bring the static vertebrate skeletons at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to life for museum visitors, students, and at-home users. The associated research describes the app's development as an "artistic repair" of a traditional science exhibit, using multisensory 3D animations, audio, and video to make scientific concepts more accessible. The authors conclude that this approach proved to be a more effective method of communication for non-specialized visitors, with visitor feedback confirming the value of artistic interpretations in making science more engaging.

App Screenshots

Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism The system, developed by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, leverages augmented reality to animate vertebrate skeletons. The interface utilizes a mobile device's camera to track skeletons on display or recognize printed markers, triggering 3D animations and informational overlays. Core functionality includes ten AR experiences, 32 educational videos, and two interactive games designed to deliver pedagogical content about animal biology and behavior. The application is engineered for use in both museum and remote educational environments.

Evidence & Research Context

The application was developed to enhance science communication in a static museum exhibit by integrating artistic and scientific design principles.
An evaluation incorporating visitor interviews and surveys confirmed the app's multisensory, artistic approach is an effective method for communicating scientific concepts to non-specialized audiences.
A case study analysis of the app's implementation concluded that its augmented reality integration provides high user experience rewards without significant detraction from the physical exhibit.

Intended Use & Scope This application is intended for educators, students, and museum visitors as a supplementary educational tool. Its primary utility is to facilitate engagement with and understanding of vertebrate anatomy and behavior through interactive visualization. The system does not provide comprehensive curricula and is designed to augment, not replace, formal science education or expert-guided museum experiences.

Studies & Publications

2 publications

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

Usability Study

Concerns and Challenges Developing Mobile Augmented Reality Experiences for Museum Exhibitions

Marques et al. (2018) · Curator: The Museum Journal

Museum visitors found augmented reality engaging and valuable without the expected drawbacks.

There may be valid reasons why some technologies are readily adopted in museum exhibits, such as audio, video and touchscreen interactives, and others are not, e.g., holography and augmented reality; however, unless we collectively and deliberately experiment with, analyze and report our findings, it is likely that concerns with technologies are based on anecdotes and assumptions rather than empirical data and may be misleading and confusing. We examine concerns and the challenges commonly associated with the use of augmented reality in exhibitions and apply a case study from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to assess the veracity of these with this particular technology. Assumptions around detraction, replacement, gimmickry, and onboarding, for example, were not found to be a valid concern. Augmented reality can have high user experience rewards, yet as with any technology, there are technical and socially relevant challenges that should be considered before adopting augmented reality as a user experience.

Effectiveness/Outcome Study

Skin & Bones: an artistic repair of a science exhibition by a mobile app

Marques et al. (2015) · MIDAS

Made museum science more accessible through artistic audio and visual content on mobile app.

Due to the costs involved with renovating exhibitions at natural history museums, some permanent exhibits stay on display unchanged for decades. The Bone Hall at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History has remained intact for 51 years. Here we discuss this exhibition as a stark exemplification of a science-only, art-free approach to communicating ideas and how creative reimaginings of the visitor experience have made it more accessible for the majority of visitors. Within the Bone Hall, mounted skeletons are displayed in static poses without any hint of movement and interpretation of their behaviors and text labels describe, in esoteric language, skeletal details. In a rare opportunity to redesign the visitor experience for an existing exhibition, we produced a mobile app. The app is guided by concepts in the natural sciences, yet inspired by artistic ideas applied to audio, video and 3D animation, which created a multisensory visitor experience. Indispensable to the approach was a production team comprised of individuals rooted in the arts/humanities and sciences. They used their crafts to make science more accessible to non-specialized visitors through audio/visual creations. Interviews and surveys with visitors confirmed the value of producing artistic interpretations of science as a more effective method of communication in the exhibit.

In the Media

App review: See Natural History skeletons before they were just bones

The Smithsonian developed Skin & Bones for the National Museum of Natural History's Bone Hall to help visitors learn about mammals, birds, reptiles and fish through compelling digital experiences. The app serves as a valuable resource while the museum's fossil hall remains closed for renovation until 2019. Amateur paleontologists can use this tool to explore natural history specimens in an engaging new format.

The Washington PostRead article

Museum app fleshes out old bones

The Smithsonian developed Skin & Bones to revitalize its outdated 50-year-old bone hall exhibit, using augmented reality technology that digitally covers skeletons with skin and fur to show what live animals looked like. Museum outreach manager Robert Costello observed that visitors "are not reading a single label" and "are not getting a single concept" as they quickly pass through the hall. The free app includes additional videos and games but only works on Apple devices.

SnexploresRead article

New Smithsonian app brings Bone Hall to 3D life

The Smithsonian's Natural History Museum developed Skin & Bones to enhance its Bone Hall experience, using augmented reality and 3D tracking technology. The free app brings 13 of the hall's 300 skeletons to life through iPhone or iPad displays, featuring experiences that range from diamondback rattlesnake skulls attacking rodents to games identifying bat species by their calls. The museum partnered with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University to develop the app for one of the Smithsonian's oldest exhibits, which opened in 1881.

GeekwireRead article

A transfusion for vampire bats: Virginia Tech researcher gives Smithsonian display new life

Virginia Tech researcher Rolf Mueller developed "Skin & Bones" to modernize the Smithsonian's Hall of Bones exhibit using augmented reality technology and high-resolution micro CT scans of bat specimens. "A submarine can be about 23 feet wide and has hundreds of sonar emitting and receiving elements distributed over its cross-section, whereas a vampire bat has just a single nose and two ears, each less than an inch long," Mueller explained while comparing bat echolocation to man-made sonar. The iPad and iPhone app creates 3-D digital bat skeletons that interact with actual museum displays through augmented reality experiences.

VtRead article