1. The Google Expeditions app planted a branch of coral in the Playa Vista Library’s community room
2. Google Expeditions Lead Associate Ashley Samuels showed kids how to find virtual elements
3. Through Asus smartphones kids could see kelp and other sea flora up close
4. Timmy Washburn, 12, was enchanted by the app’s AR technology
5. Samuels says library visits like this one give Google important feedback about AR
Photos by Zsuzsi Steiner
Toddlers, pre-teens and a handful of adults experienced the magic of augmented reality when Google Expeditions AR visited the Playa Vista Library on Dec. 21.
Asus smartphones and selfie sticks in hand, participants searched the library’s community room for hidden 3-D lobsters, coral branches and seaweed invisible to the naked eye. They found a cyclone spinning in the corner of a room, and walked right through a meteor belt in another.
One man gasped when he saw an object pop up on his screen, and a young toddler tried to reach out and touch the craters of a moon she saw through the phone.
Google Expeditions Lead Associate Ashley Samuels said library visits offer a unique opportunity for user feedback about the education-focused app. “This is where we’ve been able to reach all types of people and all walks of life,” she said. “It’s a huge spectrum, where you can go from little kids — 4- and 5-year-olds — to adults, to some elderly adults.”
— Shanee Edwards
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