Invite ancient creatures to your living room with AR

What does it feel like to stare into some of the oldest eyes on earth? With augmented reality (AR) and Google Arts & Culture, now you can find out: Meet Cambropachycope, an ancient crustacean with a distinctive pointy head covered in tiny eyes. In collaboration with institutions such as Moscow’s State Darwin Museum and London’s Natural History Museum, we’ve brought a menagerie of prehistoric animals back to digital life. Thanks to AR, you can see them up close through your phone. 

In addition to Cambropachycope, you can also meet the oldest large filter feeder, the fish that swims poorly, or the largest animal ever to live on Earth. Make sure to snap a picture or a video so you can show how these creatures compare in size to the Felis catus or Canis familiaris that roams your living room.

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  Aegirocassis - a 480m-year-old marine animal

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  Cambropachycope - owner of the oldest preserved eye

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  Silvertip shark - a ferocious apex predator

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  Blue whale - the largest animal to ever live on Earth

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  Apollo 11 Module -  living quarters during most of the first manned lunar landing mission

If unusual critters aren’t your thing, we’ve also recreated a collection of unusual cultural artifacts for you to experience in AR. Meet the pre-Inca “smiling god” Lanzón from circa 500 BCE, or see how the Apollo 11 Command Module looks in your backyard—along with a spacesuit, of course. Or, choose from among thousands of paintings to decorate your space, from Frida Kahlo’s self portraits to The Kiss.

To start learning about culture, history and nature in new dimensions, explore our collection of objects in AR and download the Google Arts & Culture app, available for free on Android and iOS

by Michelle LuoGoogle Arts & Culture via The Keyword