Digitizing Historic Preservation Local high school students use technology to digitally preserve buildings
Local high school students are recreating a world that was previously only part of their past.
The nonprofit Perennial Project held its first Portal Showcase Tuesday at Brownsville Regional Middle School, where students from five school districts used cutting-edge 3D technology to show historic buildings and landmarks as they once were. We held an exhibition.
Joe Barantovich, Perennial Project founder, said it was the most natural place to bring this technology to Brownsville because the city has so many historic buildings and a great need to preserve them. He said it seemed like something.
“There was a faction of people in town who were intent on keeping everything,” Barantovich said, “and we know we can't keep everything.”
But Barantovich said creating a virtual Brownsville will allow historic digital preservation to preserve everything.
The Epic Games Unreal Engine technology used by students allows them to explore historic digital preservation in the classroom while doing the same types of work being done at the university level.
Initially offered as an extracurricular activity for students, the technology has become part of the curriculum in Albert-Gallatin, Brownsville, Jefferson Morgan, Carmichaels, and Mount Pleasant school districts.
Each team gave a presentation demonstrating historical interactive digital recreations featuring locations such as Fort Necessity, Seawrights Toll House, Crain's Schoolhouse, and the LE Smith Glass Co. factory.
“The skills we're learning here are already at a stage where this technology is being used in engineering, architecture, redevelopment, sporting goods design, etc. These are skills that are already being transferred,” Barantovic said. Ta.
Participants would be the first to tell you that the technology has many glitches and challenges, but that is part of the digital world, and students learned to brainstorm, cooperate, collaborate, and come up with solutions.
Albert Gallatin's team spent the first eight weeks learning everything they could about Fort Necessity, enlisting the help of the National Park Service, which operates the site.
The NPS was able to provide students with historical maps, geographical research, and excavation information from various archaeological digs. The museum also conveniently had a diorama of the battle.
Their idea for this project was to not just show off the fort, but to create a complete recreation of the historic battlefield.
According to members of the Jefferson Morgan team, collaboration was key. They divide duties based on each team member's skills and interests.
Mark Dietrick of Carnegie-based Case Technologies, one of the program's partners, said his company eight years ago began digitally preserving more than 3,000 historic sites and buildings in Volterra, Italy. He said it has started.
Recently, news broke that part of the ancient wall they scanned had collapsed in the city.
“It really highlighted the importance of what we're doing,” Dietrick said.
The company plans to sit down with city leaders to discuss ways to use data from scanning walls to rebuild them.
Dietrick said the company was looking for an opportunity to leverage the same idea in Brownsville, USA, a Rust Belt community with several historic assets.
He said the company is thrilled to be able to give students access to this technology.
“You guys are doing a great job. I'm very proud of this accomplishment because it's a very difficult technology to use,” Dietrick said.
The name of this event, “Portal Showcase,” is significant. Dietrick said that portals connect things, and in this case, they connect the past with the future.
“Not only do we have access to the cutting-edge technology of the future, but we also have the opportunity to learn about the history and traditions of our local community and understand just how special it is.”
