Learning about the past, from those who were there

High-tech ghosts — polite, articulate, informative and entertaining ghosts — have come to Oyster Bay’s Raynham Hall Museum and its education center. Using an augmented-reality app on a smartphone, visitors can now see and hear members of the Townsend family, one of their slaves and British Lt. Col. John Graves Simco, who led the occupation of the hamlet during the Revolutionary War.

The experience, called “1776AR,” was created by 360XR, a U.S.-based technology company, and brings to life the vision of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation to reinterpret history in a more user-friendly way to appeal to young people as well as seasoned museum-goers.

“It’s very hard to get a child whose life revolves around technology to go to a static museum,” said Kathryn M. Curran, executive director of the Gardiner Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the study of Long Island history and its role in the American experience. “We have so many house museums on Long Island that need to rethink how they will engage a new audience.”

According to Theresa Skvarla, Raynham’s assistant director, a $300,000 grant from the foundation funded “1776AR,” and Raynham is the first facility to have the 360XR technology. 

Watching and listening to people from long ago share their experiences and their hopes for the future may be just the ticket for effective engagement. Whether it’s George Washington holding forth on the importance of apples during Colonial times while standing on top of a diorama depicting Oyster Bay in 1780, or Robert Townsend reminding visitors to be quiet so that Simco, in a nearby room, will not hear them, the experience is unique and fun.

Arlene Pastore, an educator at the museum and a special-needs teacher at Otsego Elementary in Dix Hills, said the opportunity would be valuable for her students, and children in general. “The museum will come to life for children, and for special-needs children this will be visual, which is important,” Pastore said. “It will let all children stop and wonder. This is a huge enhancement.”

For now, the museum is lending smartphones with the app, and headsets, to visitors. But according to Jack Stephenson, 360XR’s chief technology officer, they will soon be able to use their own phones and iPads to download the app.

The journey begins at the education center, in the former Lincoln Market building on Audrey Avenue, adjacent to Raynham Hall. There, 18th-century-style portraits of Samuel Townsend, a prominent merchant who bought Raynham Hall in 1738; his son, Robert, one of George Washington’s Culper spies; Elizabeth, their slave; and Simco serve as an introduction to the characters, who tell their stories inside the house museum.

Outside, at the millstone — the grinding stone used to turn grain into flour at a mill owned by the Townsend family — Robert speaks of his family’s involvement in trade in the 1700s. Then visitors are encouraged to enter the house museum, but told first to use the doorknocker to announce their arrival. When they do, they are greeted by an image of  Samuel Townsend, who reminds them that the front door itself dates to the 18th century.

The entire experience, which includes eight stops, lasts 30 to 45 minutes, but visitors can linger as long as they like to see everything else in the education center and the house museum.

Former educator Noel Gish, who taught Long Island history at Hauppauge High School, said that using the app will be a valuable learning experience. “It’s Harry Potterish with a mission,” he said. “It gives you something to think about, and an educator can follow up, asking what their students think about what they heard.”

Oyster Bay Town Clerk Rich LaMarca was impressed as well. Describing “1776AR” as a new way of learning, LaMarca said it would make the rich history of Oyster Bay easier to grasp. “It’s revolutionary,” he said. “It’s good for adults as well as children. I might bring my 5-year-old twins here.”

Veronica Johnson, 11, of Locust Valley, said she preferred the experience to a traditional museum visit. “It’s really cool,” she said. “I like how you get to see it at your own pace and how you get to see them. It’s more interesting this way.”

Stephenson said he planned to make the experience evolve over time, comparing it to a TV viewer’s desire to watch Season 2 of a Netflix series after enjoying the first. The program at Raynham Hall would be the equivalent of Season 1, and visitors could continue the story of the Revolutionary War on Long Island at museums in Setauket, the Hamptons and Shelter Island. Children might become junior spies after visiting Raynham, and when going to the next museum, earn “a badge.” The possibilities are endless, Stephenson said.

“1776AR” is scheduled to open in February at Three Village Historical Society, in Setauket, and at the Southampton African American Museum.

“Museums are usually one-dimensional,” said Dr. Georgette Grier-Key, executive director of Eastville Community Historical Society in Sag Harbor. “This is a new era for museums. We can’t go back after this.”

“1776AR” will be available for Raynham Hall visitors starting Dec. 2. The museum is at 30 W. Main St. in Oyster Bay. For more information, call (516) 922-6808.