MUNCIE, Ind. (WOWO) — Ball State University is using augmented reality and other digital technology to give people new ways to explore Muncie’s history. Recent projects from the university’s Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts, or IDIA Lab, include “Echoes of Muncie,” an augmented realit y experience that digitally reconstructs historic downtown buildings. Visitors attending ArtsWalk on Oct. 1 will be able to use their smartphones at designated locations to see 3D versions of five historic structures overlaid on the present-day streetscape. The buildings include the Wysor Grand Opera House, historic Wysor Building, old Delaware County Courthouse, Rivoli Theatre and Ball Stores building. The project was developed in partnership with Muncie Downtown Development, Ball Brothers Foundation and other community organizations. The IDIA Lab has also rebuilt “What Middletown Read,” an online research database based on historic circulation records discovered at the Muncie Public Library in 2003. The database allows researchers and the public to explore what Muncie library patrons were reading during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After technology behind the original website became outdated, the IDIA Lab spent four months rebuilding its code and search functions while improving security, accessibility and usability. “What Middletown Read” is a collaboration involving Ball State’s Center for Middletown Studies, Muncie Public Library and Ball State University Libraries. The project received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and was selected in 2015 as one of 50 exemplary projects funded during the agency’s first 50 years. More information about the projects is available through Ball State University. The post Ball State digital projects bring Muncie history to life appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less