Where Texas History Comes Alive

The Hall of State at Fair Park is one of Dallas’s most historically significant buildings but for decades, its artifacts sat quietly behind glass. Statues, murals, and relics told the story of Texas history, yet offered visitors little opportunity to interact with that story in a meaningful way. For student groups in particular, a traditional walkthrough wasn’t enough. Visiting teachers needed an experience that could hold the attention of fourth graders, satisfy state curriculum requirements, and produce evidence of learning back in the classroom.

The Dallas Historical Society also faced a broader access challenge. A growing number of  students, families, and international visitors arrive speaking Spanish as their first language; yet most museum experiences offered no multilingual support. With Fair Park hosting the FIFA World Cup Fan Zone in the same summer as the launch, the potential for international audiences added another dimension to the accessibility question.

What the Dallas Historical Society needed wasn’t just an app. They needed a platform; one that could turn a museum visit into measurable classroom data, evolve with the collection over time, and speak to every visitor who walked through the door.

QuantumERA developed a full-scale AR mobile application with 44 physical activation points throughout the Hall of State turning the building’s statues, murals, and artifacts into interactive teachers. Visitors use museum-issued iPads or their own phones to unlock augmented reality content layered directly onto the exhibit, bringing the physical space to life in ways a display case never could.

At the heart of the experience are the Hall’s six bronze statues. Using AI-enhanced facial mapping and motion capture, QuantumERA animated each figure to respond to visitor questions with historically accurate dialogue. A fourth grader can ask Stephen F. Austin a question and hear him answer in his own words.

The app operates in two modes. In Educator Mode, teachers lead student groups through a structured multiplayer scavenger hunt, assigning roles, tracking progress, and guiding the class through curriculum-aligned content tied directly to Texas TEKS and STAAR standards. In Explorer Mode, general visitors move freely through the exhibit at their own pace, discovering AR content as they go. The Explorer Mode experience is fully available in English and Spanish.

To give the Dallas Historical Society full independence over their content, QuantumERA also built a custom staff-facing CMS allowing the museum team to update exhibit content, TEKS alignments, artifact metadata, and multilingual copy with minimal outside development support.

44 AR Activation Points

Statues, murals, and artifacts throughout the Hall of State trigger animated content, audio narration, and historical context

AI-Animated Bronze Statues

Motion capture and AI facial mapping bring the six bronze figures to life, responding to visitor questions with historically accurate dialogue

Dual-Mode Experience

Educator-led multiplayer scavenger hunt for school groups; free-play mode for general visitors

TEKS & STAAR Alignment

Content mapped to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards, supporting measurable classroom outcomes.

Multilingual Support

Full English and Spanish language support for general visitors

Museum-Issued iPads

Available for use during visits, no personal device required

Custom Staff CMS

Museum staff control all app content, artifact data, and TEKS metadata independently

Ongoing Maintenance

QuantumERA actively maintains the mobile application

“We didn’t want Texas history to sit quietly behind glass.”

— Karl Chiao, Executive Director, Dallas Historical Society

Funded by a $1 million Moody Foundation grant, the experience launched in early 2026 and immediately began serving students across the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Richardson ISD became an early partner, enrolling students in a longitudinal study tracking pre- and post-STAAR performance trends tied directly to the museum visit.

The app gave the Dallas Historical Society a new tool that serves their educational mission, supports teachers in the field, deepens engagement for every type of visitor, and produces the data schools need to justify the field trip experience.