Tech Check: Fernbank Museum app - DC Breaking Local News Weather Sports FOX 5 WTTG

Tech Check: Fernbank Museum app

Posted: Updated:
  • More Money News

  • Yahoo is buying online blogging forum Tumblr for $1.1 billion as CEO Marissa Mayer tries to rejuvenate an Internet icon that had fallen behind the times.
    After falling woefully out of fashion, Yahoo wants to be cool again while catering to the capitalistic demands of its shareholders. That goal led CEO Marissa Mayer to make a $1.1 billion bet on online blogging forum Tumblr...
  • Monday, May 20 2013 8:22 AM EDT2013-05-20 12:22:09 GMT
    In this Tech Check, we're thinking about working parents who might like to keep a little closer eye on their kids while they're at home this summer.
    In this Tech Check, we're thinking about working parents who might like to keep a little closer eye on their kids while they're at home this summer.
  • Monday, May 20 2013 6:38 AM EDT2013-05-20 10:38:06 GMT
    A government report shows that even though there are more women than ever in the work force, women still have a hard time saving for retirement.
    A government report shows that even though there are more women than ever in the work force, women still have a hard time saving for retirement.
ATLANTA -

What if you could make a museum exhibit come to life? It sounds like a movie plot, but for one museum in metro Atlanta, it's becoming closer to a reality.

The Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta unveiled a new smart phone app which will change the way you visit museums in the future. The new app helps engage children of all ages with their exhibits.

The app is really just an extension of the exhibit, just in the digital world. One example given by executives at the museum involves the dinosaurs in the great hall. The app allows museum staff to simulate how the dinosaurs would have walked if they were alive today. It is a question that many ask, but now the answer can fully be realized by the app.

Once the app is downloaded to your smart phone and started, it will search for you and find where you are in the museum. That is when the real adventure begins.

In addition to the media the app delivers, it also challenges you, like asking you to find a fossil in the floor. It also digitally transports you outside the museum to sites where fossil would be found or places relevant to an exhibit.

There's also something called the paleontologist's journal where you see the museum through the eyes of a scientist.

And don't be frightened if the app gets triggered automatically as you walk up to a certain exhibit. That is just all part of the adventure. But if you're looking for something specific, it can help guide you there as well.

The app is free and is only available for iPhone users, but Fernbank administrators say they will soon have an Android version available.

For more information on the app visit the Fernbank website at fernbankmuseum.org.

Powered by WorldNow

WTTG FOX 5 & myfoxdc
5151 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20016
Main Number: (202) 244-5151
Newsroom: (202) 895-3000
fox5tips@wttg.com

Didn't find what you were looking for?
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Fox Television Stations, Inc. and Worldnow. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Ad Choices