Roles
Product Manager
Content Strategist
Tools
Collaborative software (Microsoft Teams, Sharepoint, and Word)
Overview
These augmented reality features help visitors stay safe and deepen their understanding of Yellowstone. One experience shows how far to stay from wildlife, while another brings to life the era when the U.S. Army protected the park at the turn of the 20th century. Together, they enhance visitor learning and safety through innovative, place-based storytelling.
This project began as an idea to use augmented reality to enhance how visitors learn and stay safe in Yellowstone National Park. I proposed two AR experiences to the NPS Digital Experience Division—one to help visitors visualize safe wildlife viewing distances and another to bring the historic Fort Yellowstone to life. I focused on these features after identifying distance perception as a key challenge for visitors encountering wildlife. Many visitors struggle to accurately judge what 25 or 100 yards looks like, even though those distances are required for safely viewing animals such as bears, wolves, and bison.
After the concepts were approved, I wrote the contract, secured funding through Yellowstone Forever, the park’s philanthropic partner, and worked directly with the app developer, GuideOne Mobile, to bring the experiences into the official NPS App.
From the start, my goal was to make technology serve the park’s mission: protecting resources while enriching the visitor experience. I collaborated closely with subject matter experts and the developer to ensure historical and interpretive accuracy, providing reference images, archival photographs, and written content. I also guided content structure, user flow, and messaging to balance educational value with intuitive design.
Development required ongoing coordination—reviewing early prototypes, testing in the field, and iterating on usability and visual alignment. I also worked to ensure seamless integration within the app’s interface so that users would easily discover and navigate the new features.
The resulting AR experiences blend storytelling and safety education through immersive, place-based interaction. Visitors can see how far they should stay from wildlife or explore what life was like when the U.S. Army protected Yellowstone at the turn of the twentieth century. Together, these projects represent some of the first uses of augmented reality within the NPS App and lay the groundwork for similar innovations across the National Park Service, using emerging technology to connect people more deeply to America’s public lands.
