Posted on behalf of Andrew Gray: Curator of Herpetology at Manchester Museum

At the moment Adam and I are working on providing information to Gail Millin-Chalabi at Mimas to support a superb new project which is currently underway called ‘Mapping the Museum’. It aims to enhance collections through the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D mapping visualisation. The first phase of the project is focusing on amphibian and reptile species found in the Vivarium and there will be 2 new applications developed.

The first will be called ‘Virtual Vivarium’ – Developed using Google Earth the Virtual Vivarium is the app any visitor will be able use to find out more about the amphibians that are currently both on display and behind the scenes. The Virtual Vivarium will provide exciting new content on:

• Where in the world all the amphibian species in the vivarium are located – it visualises the most up-to-date distribution maps from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and our expertise here using the 3D Google Earth globe.
• Detailed species descriptions including photographs, videos and relevant links.
• All the in-situ costa rican conservation work we are involved in.

Issues surrounding the threats amphibians are facing, using a case study of Madagascar which shows how their habitat has changed over time due to deforestation using satellite image animation

Virtual Vivarium developed using Google Earth

Fabulous Frogs App: Splendid & Native Developed using Junaio the Fabulous Frogs App: Splendid and Native is an interactive Augmented Reality (AR) tool which is targeted at 7 – 11 years and maps to Key Stage 2 of the National Curriculum in England and to the “responsible citizens” and “successful learners” capacities of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence: specifically the AR app helps to develop children’s capabilities to evaluate environmental issues and to use technology for learning independently. The app will include the following learning objectives and features based around the Splendid Leaf Frog:

• Where the Splendid Leaf Frog lives in relation to the learner
• Understanding the anatomy of frogs (see below).
• Frog life cycle – comparison between the Splendid Leaf Frog and the native Common Frog, including quick quiz questions for each stage of the life cycle
• Viewing our Splendid Leaf Frogs with David Attenborough
• In-depth  exploration of related Frog Blog Manchester content
• How you can help – Sponsor a Frog

Fabulous Frogs App: Splendid & Native

Both these 2 exciting new apps are planned for release this summer and will be accessed exclusively through taking a photo of a Splendid Leaf Frog on Frog Blog Manchester with your phone or iPad.