Explore 100 Years of the Lincoln Memorial with this Custom Landmarker Lens

May 30, 2022 marked the 100th year since the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, which has long stood as an important reminder of our country’s past and progress. Each year, millions of visitors from around the world travel to Washington DC to explore and honor the memorialized 16th president of the United States, along with the many historic moments that have taken place at his feet.

To celebrate the monument’s centennial birthday, we partnered with The National Mall and Balti Virtual to release a new Custom Landmarker Lens. Through historical photos and facts surrounding the monument, the Lens offers visitors an inside look into the dedication ceremony of 1922.

We caught up with Balti Virtual who were behind this Custom Landmarker Lens to discuss their creative process, how AR Lenses can be used for similar events and milestones, and the importance of creating these kinds of experiences.

If this interview leaves you feeling inspired, check out Lens Studio to learn how to create your own Landmarker Lenses!

Why is this Lens so important?

Balti Virtual: We celebrated the 100th anniversary of the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial with photos taken from the original ceremony in 1922. It was the first time the Lincoln Memorial was used as a Custom Landmarker, and it created an easy and interactive way for users to peer into history.

Tell us about a few key effects or features you used in Lens Studio to bring this project to life.

Balti Virtual: We created the Custom Landmarker in Lens Studio. Due to the size of the memorial, we needed to use several Landmarker scans to capture the entire area. When we felt like we captured enough scans, we put them together like puzzle pieces, so it created one big scan. To make the Lens more intuitive, we incorporated markers on the ground that trigger an animation when users are within a close proximity.

What do you love most about this Lens?

Balti Virtual: We love that this Lens brings the memorial to life with photos from the original dedication ceremony. It’s an educational and celebratory tool wrapped up in one easy-to-use Lens. We also loved riding the scooters back and forth between the memorial and the coffee shop that we visited when we were testing onsite!

How do you see AR Lenses being used to celebrate or commemorate events in the future?

Balti Virtual: AR Lenses are a great way to make events more memorable and interactive. With the power of AR and the creation/developer tools launched by Snap, the sky’s the limit.

How do you think AR can be used as an educational tool?

Balti Virtual: Augmented reality is a great educational tool that immerses people within the subject matter and makes learning fun and interesting.