Augmented Reality (AR) and 3D printing have increasingly been used in archaeological and cultural heritage to make artifacts and environments accessible to the general public. This paper presents the case study of the Ljungaviken dog, an archaeological find of dog skeleton remains dated around 8000 years ago. The dog remains have been digitized using 3D scanning and displayed in an AR application. A physical replica has also been created with 3D printing. Both the AR application and the 3D printed copy have been shown in a temporary museum exhibition. In this paper, we present the visitors’ experience evaluation based on a study with 42 participants. Aspects being evaluated are related to the realism, enjoyment, and easiness of use of the AR application. Moreover, the two media are compared in terms of understanding, visual quality, and experience satisfaction. The results show an overall positive experience for both the display solutions, with slightly higher scores for the AR application in the comparison. When asked about overall preference, the participants reported similar results between both media. Due to issues of displaying fragile objects in a museum setting, as well as recent restrictions following pandemic closures and availability, the results presented in this paper show a positive alternative towards using digital artifacts to showcase our cultural heritage. © 2022, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.