Abstract
This paper examines the role of adults’ participation in a mixed reality experience in aiding
children to discover, reason and reflect about historical places and events. An experience was developed
which involved a paper-based ‘history hunt’ around a castle searching for clues about historical events
that happened at the site. The clues involved people making drawings or rubbings on paper at a variety of
locations. The paper was then electronically tagged and used to interact with a story tent. This consisted
of a tarpaulin structure with projections on either side. A Radio Frequency ID tag reader and ultra violet
light were positioned inside the tent. When placed on the tag reader, each paper clue revealed an historic
3D environment of the castle from the location at which the clue was found. ‘Secret writing’ revealed the
story of a character at this location, while 2D images on the tent displayed corresponding scenes from this
historical period. Visitors to the castle over 4 days took part in this experience. Video analysis of children
and adults in the Storytent suggest that the quality of adult engagement reflects the extent to which
children discover and make connections. The importance of these findings is discussed in relation to
future design of mixed reality technologies to support collaborative learning.
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