The Collin County History Museum hosted the McKinney Then and Now exhibit from 2020-2022. This exhibit allowed visitors the opportunity to step back in time and experience what life was like in the early days of McKinney. Historic photos, artifacts, and set designs of historic buildings help tell the stories of the people, places, and events that helped shape McKinney.

Visitors to the exhibit could use an iPad to scan QR codes that are linked to videos. Through these videos they will hear stories about early McKinney told through the historical vignettes of Collin County historians. They can also experience a modern day look at McKinney through 360 images and drone videography.

An exciting feature of the exhibit was the use of augmented reality. The iPad app called HP Reveal that makes this feature possible. After launching the app, you simply point the camera of the iPad over the image. The HP Reveal app recognizes the object and triggers an overlay image. The historic images in the exhibit are paired with the views of the same scenes as they appear today or a similar business that is currently in McKinney. Through the use of augmented reality (AR) visitors are able to compare for themselves McKinney Then and Now.