An Augmented Reality Experience in the Presidio

Description

Step into Petlenuc Interrupted, a family-friendly story of one child’s discovery of San Francisco’s natural and Indigenous history.  This highly immersive, stunningly beautiful tale plays out in The Presidio Tunnel Tops Park, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Step into 5th-grader Alfi’s shoes and see  how his sensitive nature connects him to the Ohlone animal god Coyote. Using the latest AR technology, you’ll walk inside three-dimensional Ohlone huts, witness Bay-sized Ohlone mythology, and be drawn into the deep natural and cultural history below your feet.

Perfect for families and curious explorers ages 6 and up, this experience transforms familiar outdoor spaces into an interactive adventure with both education and entertainment in mind. Writer and Creator of the story, Michael Epstein says, "The project came from watching my own son experience what so many San Franciscans do, learning about Native Californian culture in school and then trying to figure out how these teachings can guide our modern lives.”

Petlenuc Interrupted is the first chapter of the Claims Trilogy, project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Download the App Here

Great for any day, any time! “Petlenuc Interrupted” is now available for download for iPhones and Android devices. The park is open 24/7, so if you wanna do it as a morning activity, sunset experience, or any time during the week or weekend, it’s ready for you to step inside!

Petlenuc Interrupted is a great way to explore history, be outside, and have a shared digital experience with family and friends. To make sure the experience runs smoothly for the whole family, we've put together a quick guide for the best way to share devices for your group.  Ideally, everyone has their own devices and headphones, but we know that isn’t always possible, especially with kids.  So we put together the following list of approaches to taking the tour from optimal to least optimal.

Parent Guide

1 PARENT, 1 KID, 1 DEVICE?

We recommend sharing the device with your child & listening with separate headphones.  You may need to get a headphone splitter to make this work and you can get great splitters for under $10.  Try letting your child hold the device during the tour.  Make them feel like the leader!

1 PARENT, 2 KIDS, 1 DEVICE?

This can be trickier to give everyone the same experience, so we recommend a 3-way headphone splitter. Walking close together is part of the fun.  You can also try speakerphone but it will be harder to follow the story.  

2 PARENTS, 2+ KIDS, 2+ DEVICES?

Group mode was made for this! You can sync playback using the Group Mode function so when one person pauses, all devices pause. There is no max group size, but more than 8 devices can be hard to manage.

FAQs

  • Yes, the experience does work on speakerphone with two people listening, but they’ll have to keep the device close to their ears and it may not be the best experience on a noisy, crowded day at the Presidio.  Three people can be challenging on speakerphone.

  • Doable, but best if you can get a triple headphone splitter so they can call hear well. It can also be done on speakerphone, but it will be a hard for everyone to hear and see the AR together, especially on a single phone.

    We recommend if possible having 2 people per device for the best experience.

  • The tour was designed for the whole family to laugh, learn, and explore together.  It’s not just for kids!  But if you want some down time, feel free to let the kids take the tour by themselves.  We do recommend shadowing the kids to make sure they are paying attention to their surroundings and don’t run into any technical difficulties. 

Deeper Dive

Deeper Dive will help you explore the history, characters, and themes in Petlenuc Interrupted. It is designed to be explored after taking the tour, although some of the information here can help set up the story before you experience it.

Learn more

Background

Site-Specific AR Storytelling

This project explores how land-based history can be conveyed through audio, site exploration, and large-scale augmented reality.  Working with Native American advisors and creatives, “Petenluc Interrupted” looks at how one small tract of land holds deep history and potential clues to the future of San Francisco’s relationship with the environment. This story was preceded by our award-winning walk “Museum of the Hidden City,” which looked at how current housing policy was influenced by Urban Renewal in the 1960’s.  Looking back further in time, “Petlenuc Interrupted” uncovers Indigenous housing history of the village of Petlenuc, one of the three Ohlone village sites in San Francisco.  While geared towards young children, the story also hints at ways Native American history can inform future housing policy and ways our Indigenous history is taught.

Technology

The techniques being used to create the project’s app include photogrammetry (for scanning recreations of Ohlone huts,) GPS triggered audio, and Unity-based augmented reality.  This project includes our most ambitious AR work to date, including Bay-sized versions of the creation story, our first AR character (Coyote,) and fully three-dimensional structures you can walk inside of and interact with. As always, we use the landscape itself as a guide for how to create the AR, making sure it fits visually with the built and natural environments. The story is delivered via a Unity-based app for iPhone and Android and we are working on an AR glasses version available on rental devices.  

3-D/Photogrammetry

Augmented Reality

GPS-Triggered Audio

Impact

Prototype presented at SXSW 2025 “Immersive Experience Alliance” Meeting.  

Winner of a $400,000 NEH Digital Projects for the Public Production Grant.  

Photo Gallery

  • Geolocated Creation Story

    AR technology allows us to return oral traditions to the sites where they originated. Here the Ohlone creation story is re-attached to the land where it was birthed.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • A Family Experience

    Actors Jordan Deang and Clarke Helland test the walk with their moms. The project used local actors and writers to develop the story and shape the experience.

  • Site-Specific

    Petlenuc Interrupted is a site-specific story meant to be experienced in San Francisco’s Presidio Park. It lasts about 40 minutes and is appropriate for kids ages 6 and up.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • It All Starts with a Map

    At Walking Cinema we love maps of all shapes and sizes. This map both orients audiences to the land and serves as a stage for a stunning AR animation.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • Stunning Views

    The tour leads you to one of the most iconic views of the Golden Gate Bridge and layers original Ohlone stories on top of that view.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • A Walking Experience

    Actor Clarke Helland tests the tour with his family. It’s an experience that can bring a family together around a story and a place.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • The Tunnel Tops Park

    Kind of the like The High Line in New York, the Tunnel Tops Park reinvigorates what used to be a roadway. It’s also the site where the Yalamu Ohlone village of Petlenuc sat for centuries.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • Fire Pit

    It can get cold out on the Tunnel Tops Park. The tour ends here to warm folks up a bit and go out in a blaze of glory.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • Interactive Satire

    The tour features an interactive scavenger hunt to gather virtual tools that helped the Ohlone survived. This section is both fun for kids and lampoons the concept of that virtual items can convey a very physical relationship to nature.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

  • Animating Coyote

    Animating Coyote

    Tour used full 3D to bring the character of Coyote to life in the world around you.

    PHOTO CREDIT: WALKING CINEMA

Awards

National Endowment for the Humanities “Digital Projects for the Public”

Production Grant

Read More

Production Team

Michael Epstein, Principal Investigator, Writer and Producer

Michael is a journalist, media scholar, and founder of Walking Cinema. He co-wrote and produced the project.

Carlee Malemute, Writer

Carlee Malemute (Athabascan) graduated from USC’s Screenwriting MFA Program and has written for "Good Witch," "Spirit Rangers," and "The Great North."

Maxim Antinori, Developer

Max is an XR developer with 20 years' experience creating software focused on rich, meaningful content — from cultural history to surgical simulations. He was the lead software developer.

Sasha Mandel

Sasha Mandel, Sound Designer

Sasha is a sound designer with a passion for interactivity and deep listening. He was the sound designer and editor for Petlenuc Interrupted.

Priyadharshni Krishnan, Developer

Priya is an AR/VR app developer specialising in Training and Simulation Applications. She is part of the programming team in this project.

Zhaoyan “Yuki” Li, Graphic Designer

Yuki is a graphic designer based out of Las Vegas who made a lot of the stuff you see on our webpages.

Natalia Arévalo, Producer

Natalia is an audiovisual producer who led casting, timelines, and logistics, keeping creative teams aligned and production moving for this audio and AR experience.

Camilo Vanegas, 2D/3D Artist

Camilo is an Award-winning Animation Director (14+ yrs). Creates compelling characters/worlds for games/AR (Hades, Peridot). Passionate about innovative art & engagement.

Jan Gilbert, Voiceover Director

Jan is a Drama Therapist and TBA award winning director. She has been working with SF's premiere sketch comedy group Killing My Lobster for over a decade.

Clarke Helland, Actor

Clarke Helland, is a trained singer, actor, and voiceover artist playing "Alfi." When he’s not performing, you’ll catch him skiing, speed cubing, running with his track team, or mountain biking.

Jordan Deang, Actor

Jordan, playing Hendrick, is a professional NBA hiphop dancer, competitive hooper, and voice actor, excelling with passion, skill, and energy on stage, on the court, and behind the mic.

Joey Clift, Actor

Joey (Cowlitz Tribe Member) plays Coyote and is an Emmy-nominated writer/comedian. He wrote for "Spirit Rangers" (Netflix) and is the creator of the Webby-winning show "Gone Native" (Comedy Central).

Margaux Poupard, Actor

Margaux, playing Helen, is a screenwriter, copywriter, sketch writer, editor, podcaster, and now she can add voice over actor to her impressive resume as well.

Yuhan Chiueh, Marketing Consultant

Yuhan Chiueh is a brand strategy and marketing consultant based in San Francisco with experience building brands across both corporate and mission driven and creative ventures.

Credits

STARRING:
Clarke Helland
Jordan Deang
Joey Clift
Margaux Poupard

PROJECT DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR:
Michael Epstein

WRITTEN BY:
Carlee Malemute
Michael Epstein

DEDICATED TO:
Malcolm Margolin, author The Ohlone Way

DEVELOPER:
Maxim Antinori

ASSOCIATE DEVELOPER:
Priya Krishnan

GRAPHIC DESIGNER:
Zhaoyan “Yuki”  Li

MARKETING CONSULTANT:
Yuhan Chiueh

PRODUCER:
Natalia Arevalo

VISUAL DIRECTOR, 2D/3D ARTIST:
Camilo Vanegas

VOICEOVER DIRECTOR:
Jan Gilbert

SOUND DESIGNER:
Sasha Mandel

BACKGROUND KIDS VOICES:
Francesco Epstein
Lilah Hays

SCRIPT EDITOR:
Chandrika Madhavan

AUDIO EDITOR:
Kyle Randall

ANIMATOR/RIGGER:
Jimena Vargas

INTERN:
Emma Hui, The Bay School

MUSIC:
“This is Ohlone Land” by Kanyon CoyoteWoman Sayers-Roods, Kaitlin McGaw, and Tommy Shepherd

ADVISORS:
Prof. Lawrence Vale, Associate Dean, MIT Department of Architecture and Planning
Rick Berry, Director, Four Elements Earth Education
Tamlyn Andrews, Operations Director, Four Elements Earth Eduction
Prof. Ocean Howell, Associate Professor of History and Digital Humanities University of Oregon
Prof. Jane Rondgerude, Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning, University of Iowa
Erin Reilly, Professor of Practice, Moody School of Business, University of Texas

SPECIAL THANKS:
Jennifer Crandall
Jonathon Keats
Different Fur Studios
Il Parco Cafe
The Bathroom Staff at the Presidio, cleanest public restrooms in SF

Want to Learn more about the project?

Press Kit