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In the Arts Center of Christchurch New Zealand there is an empty dusty basement room. This room isn't much different from other basement rooms, however visitors are treated to a very unique experience. Upon entering, they hear a voice telling then to come closer into the darkness. When they do, a life-sized virtual image of an old man appears floating in front of them. The man turns, looks at them and tells what it was like working in this dark space over a hundred year ago. He is Ernest Rutherford, New Zealand's Nobel-prize winning physicist, and the room is where he performed his first research as an undergraduate at the University of Canterbury. Through the use of advanced technology an empty space is turned into a very rich educational experience.

The ability to overlay computer graphics onto the real world is commonly called Augmented Reality (AR). Unlike immersive Virtual Reality, AR interfaces allow users to see the real world at the same time as virtual imagery attached to real locations and objects. In an AR interface, the user views the world through a handheld or head mounted display (HMD) that is either see-through or overlays graphics on video of the surrounding environment. AR interfaces enhance the real world experience, unlike other computer interfaces that draw users away from the real world and onto the screen.