Kat: Week 14

I recently had the chance to experiment with Matterport, and the experience was enjoyable and surprisingly intuitive. For my assignment, I chose to scan the Medicine Wheel Garden. Inspired by attending the garden’s twentieth-anniversary celebration just a few weeks ago, I thought it would be interesting to produce a virtual tour of the space. Nestled behind the Liberal Arts building on campus, the garden is designed around Indigenous traditions and filled with native plant species. At the core of the design, four intersecting paths form the shape of a medicine wheel, each representing the Four Directions. Taken physically, the Four Directions represent East, South, West, and North; however, there are many other meanings depending on the tribe and belief system. The most common interpretations are the stages of life and health, such as the spiritual, emotional, physical, and intellectual components of a person. The medicine wheel garden reminds us of the importance of maintaining balance with oneself and the natural world. 

My first attempt at scanning began at the start of the black path. I walked each path from its starting point to the central intersection and then continued down the next path until I had scanned all directions. After uploading and viewing the results, though, I realized something had gone wrong. The stitched images didn’t align, and the paths appeared distorted. Matterport hadn’t been able to reconcile all the changing angles from my initial walk-through. On my second attempt, I shifted strategies. This time, I positioned myself at the very center of the garden, where all the paths meet, and completed a 360-degree capture. This approach allowed Matterport to blend the images seamlessly, resulting in an accurate 3D rendering. 

Working with Matterport made me think about the growing role of virtual and augmented reality in fields like public history. Museum and library professionals are increasingly turning to these technologies to create interactive experiences. In this week’s readings, for instance, we learned about a museum that animated dinosaur fossils using a smartphone app. While others are exploring apps that use virtual guides to accompany visitors through exhibits and augmented reality to bring still images to life. These technologies can transform how we engage with the past. 3D models and tours, like the scan of the Medicine Wheel Garden, can help make places accessible to people who might not have the chance to visit in person. A digital rendering allows users to experience and understand spaces in a way that a static image can’t. 

In Nathan Jurgenson’s Cyborgology blog, he argues that the digital and physical worlds are not separate spheres but deeply interconnected. Our identities, our interactions, and our experiences blend both realms, creating what he calls augmented reality. As cultural memory institutions continue exploring these technologies, it is fascinating to imagine the possibilities that virtual tools can serve to enrich our engagement with history.