Lexington's Visitor Center is betting on mixed reality headsets to bring history to life, running daily "iREV" sessions that let visitors see and interact with scenes from 1770s Lexington right on the Battle Green itself.

How it works.

The 20-minute sessions run weekdays through Oct. 31 at noon (Meeting House) and 12:30 p.m. (The Belfry), according to the center's official tourism account. The program launched about three months ago and is still expanding, the Lexington Observer reported.

Why the town made this leap.

The VR push follows a bigger shift: the Select Board voted in March to drop the town's Liberty Ride trolley, which was losing about $125,000 a year, in favor of tours that were already drawing far more visitors — nearly 27,000 through the Visitor Center in 2025 compared to just 8,772 trolley tickets sold. Town staff called VR tours part of "forward-looking strategies that will serve visitors better and cost residents less." Boston startup See Reality Inc., which builds AI-powered augmented reality headsets for historical sites, operates in Lexington, though its exact role in the iREV program hasn't been confirmed publicly.

The human touch is still very much alive, too.

The center's 21 costumed guides still lead four walking tours daily year-round, a 1.5-hour route passing the John Parker Minute Man statue and ending at the Old Burying Ground. Tour coordinator Jackson Rhodes said each tour averages four visitors — a "good balance," he called it. Guide Casey Farnsworth, leading a tour in 85-degree heat, ditched the period jacket and boots for comfort. "I'm very hot, it does not breathe," she said of her authentic linen dress.

Who's actually showing up.

Most out-of-state visitors come from Texas, Florida and California, with international visitors mainly from Australia, Germany, China and Japan. Locals rarely take the tours at all — Rhodes, a Lexington resident himself, admitted he'd only been inside the Visitor Center once before taking the job, "and that was to use the bathroom." He's hoping the new tech might finally pull in more residents, especially newcomers to town.

Plan a visit.

The Visitor Center is open daily, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Book an iREV session through the Visit Lexington website, running weekdays through Oct. 31.