Bringing History and Stories to Life Through Augmented Reality at The Big Malarkey Festival

HelloU Creative explores how augmented reality, storytelling and immersive experiences can help communities connect with the stories around them

Stories have always been one of the most powerful ways to connect people, share knowledge, and inspire curiosity.

From spoken stories passed between generations to books, film, podcasts, gaming, and immersive digital experiences, the ways we experience stories continue to evolve. Yet the heart of storytelling remains the same — connection, imagination, emotion, and curiosity.

This year, HelloU Creative brought together creativity, technology, and storytelling through StoryCoin™ as part of The Big Malarkey Festival, exploring new ways to help families, communities, and young people discover stories in an interactive and memorable way.

Celebrating Storytelling, Creativity and Imagination

Returning to East Park from 15–21 June, with the main family festival taking place on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 June, The Big Malarkey Festival brought together families, authors, performers, educators, artists, illustrators, musicians, and creatives to celebrate the power of stories.

HelloU Creative supported the festival through a week of activities focused on storytelling, creativity, future skills, immersive experiences, and inspiring young minds through imagination and innovation.

StoryCoin™ Connecting Physical and Digital Storytelling

StoryCoin™ is HelloU Creative’s approach to bringing stories to life by blending the physical and digital worlds.

Through augmented reality, interactive experiences, creative activities, and digital storytelling, StoryCoin™ helps people engage with stories in new ways — whether exploring local heritage, discovering historical figures, taking part in immersive trails, or experiencing stories through interactive content.

The aim is to create experiences that encourage curiosity, conversation, exploration, and connection.

At The Big Malarkey Festival, HelloU Creative introduced the StoryCoin™ Magical Mystery Star Trail, an interactive experience designed to encourage families to explore, discover, and connect with inspiring stories.

Using a mobile phone to unlock digital content, families followed the trail, uncovered hidden experiences, and discovered historic figures linked to creativity, courage, innovation, and storytelling.

Participants who completed the experience received a special gift to celebrate their journey.

Bringing Historical Figures and Local Stories to Life

One of the key aims of StoryCoin™ is to make stories and history feel more accessible, relevant, and exciting for modern audiences.

Historical figures can sometimes feel distant — names in textbooks, portraits in museums, or stories from another time. Through creative technology, HelloU Creative helps reveal the person behind the name, allowing audiences to discover their ideas, challenges, achievements, and lasting impact.

The Magical Mystery Star Trail featured inspiring figures including Mary Wollstonecraft, helping audiences discover her fascinating connections to Yorkshire.

Discovering Mary Wollstonecraft’s Yorkshire Connections

HelloU Creative was pleased to learn more about Mary Wollstonecraft’s links to Yorkshire through conversations with Emma Waslin, Programme Development Manager at the Wollstonecraft Society.

While Wollstonecraft is often associated with London and her influential writing around women’s rights and education, fewer people realise that part of her younger life was shaped by time spent in Yorkshire during the 1770s.

Mary Wollstonecraft lived at 2 Highgate in Beverley, close to Beverley Minster.

Sharing these local connections helps demonstrate that history is not something distant or separate from everyday life. Important ideas and influential people are connected to the places and communities around us.

Inspiring Future Generations Through Creativity

The Wollstonecraft Society inspires and educates children and young people about human rights through the life and work of Mary Wollstonecraft.

Their vision is to support a fairer future where young people facing barriers can gain knowledge, access opportunities, and feel empowered to shape their futures.

With support from Two Ridings Community Foundation, the Society is currently delivering Start Somewhere… in Hull, a year-long creative human rights programme supporting young people aged 14–17.

Using Technology to Create Meaningful Connections

Many young people today are growing up surrounded by gaming, interactive media, and AI-generated content. Technology can become a powerful gateway to creativity, learning, and discovery when used thoughtfully.

Through StoryCoin™, HelloU Creative combines storytelling, heritage, creativity, and digital innovation to create experiences that encourage people to explore, learn, and connect.

Whether bringing historic figures to life, transforming locations into interactive experiences, creating educational activities, or adding digital layers to physical objects and places, StoryCoin™ explores how technology can help stories live on in new and exciting ways.

The future of storytelling is not about replacing traditional stories — it is about finding new ways to experience them.

Special thanks to Teddy Lucine and Emma Waslin for their contributions and for helping share Mary Wollstonecraft’s story.

Find out more about the Wollstonecraft Society: www.wollstonecraftsociety.org