Can you time-travel with a baby? You can. Just recently, I have taken Liam on his first such trip as part of a hosted press event. The topic? One that might just be of interest to his generation: The digital reconstruction of past centuries and millennia, as well as the digital enhancement (change, additions) of already existing, historical objects. Mh. Sounds pretty abstract, right? However, a small town in my home country of Lower Austria, Tulln an der Donau, has already given it some thought. They have pioneered digital time-travelling with a new app called “Virtulleum“, which allows you to experience the city of Tulln, about half an hour from Vienna, in a new way.
Testing the app in Tulln with a team of bloggers and journalists, as well as baby Liam in tow! Foto (c) Stadt Tulln / Marcus Deak
A simple formula for digital time travel: Virtual + Tulln + Museum = “Virtulleum”. Starting at or from the local city museum.
You may already download the Virtulleum app from the app store before you go to Tulln (free of charge). At the local city museum of Tulln, you also have the possibility to borrow iPads and enjoy the app tour there. The museum provides you with information about the app, as well as the digital tour through the city.
Besides being offered in German, the app is also translated into English, so you may also use it at your convenience.
Once you have reached a certain spot (through GPS tracking, it becomes visible on your device), you can open further information about the location in the app, watch a video, overlay an old photo of the cityscape you are watching, travel through different eras of the history of Tulln.
Pretty cool!
Start your virtual experience of Tulln at the local city museum …
… and watch out for these posts, helping you to navigate around the “virtual Tulln” Virtulleum experience.
As soon as you’ve reached a location, information is displayed in the app – such as the about the traditional horse saddles used for horses pulling ships upstream along the Danube river ..!
A lovely day for experiencing Tulln by the Danube river!
Augmented reality posts are being put all across town, hinting at using the app.
We can vow for its simplicity …
… and I can add the benefit that it is simply to use also while carrying sweet baby Liam. …!
Check out further information about the Virtulleum-App: https://www.virtulleum.at.
Let’s see if further towns will adopt the idea. I believe there is a lot of potential for reviving historic city tours through a modern application like the “Virtulleum”! Would you go see it?
Disclaimer: We have been invited to experience the “Virtulleum” in Tulln. All opinions are my own.