Case Study: National Portrait Gallery boosts kid engagement with Catchoom image recognition

Headhunt! App Turns a Museum Visit into an Interactive Experience with Image Recognition

The National Portrait Gallery wanted a better way to engage young visitors, especially kids aged 9–14, who might find a traditional museum visit too passive. To make exhibitions more interactive and educational, it turned to Catchoom and its image recognition technology for a self-guided mobile experience.

Catchoom helped power the Headhunt! app with its On-Device Image Recognition SDK, enabling fast offline recognition of artworks without relying on Wi-Fi or mobile data. The app lets kids scan portraits, unlock interactive activities, take notes, record audio, and share discoveries, while also generating post-visit reports for teachers and parents. The gallery reported that the “magic” of instant recognition excited children, and Catchoom’s image matching delivered average 98% accuracy.

National Portrait Gallery

Gillian Raymond

Digital Manager