Valley of Heart's Delight: 1777-2020

Monday, March 6, 2017

July 3-14, 2017
5th Annual Reality Capture Summer Technology Camp

The Reality Capture Summer Technology Camp is a unique project driven STEAM program that introduces students to the engineering process through state of the art technology. Utilizing laser scanning/digital documentation techniques, students actively take part in creating a digital archive of the region’s cultural heritage while using civil engineering tools to resolve complex geospatial challenges.

Locations:

History Park in is the location/campus of the proposed program. History Park contains 34 historic structures and encompasses 14+ acres in central San Jose. The History San Jose Collection Center has more than 500,000 artifacts that students can archive and digitally document.

Associated Oil Station

Cogswell College in San Jose is one of the world’s premiere digital animation and audio engineering colleges. Cogswell engineering alumni work at iconic industry leaders like Disney, DreamWorks Animation, PIXAR Studios, Industrial Light and Magic, EA Sports, LucasFilm and many others. The combination of Cogswell’s artistic, engineering influence and historic, archival focus of History Park is the ideal blend of Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics.

Program Goals:

1. Introduce students to engineering through hands on projects with state of the art hardware and software.

2. Encourage students to pursue careers in education, engineering, science and technology.

3. Provide participants with a unique experience that prepares them for the next step in their professional development

4. Build bridges and connect pathways to facilitate our participant’s transition to institutions of higher education, trade unions or entrepreneurship.

5. To train and retain local talent for the expanding Silicon Valley workforce.

6. To create a program that benefits both the participants and the greater community

There are several objectives in route to our stated goals. Most importantly, engaging the next generation of educators, engineers, innovators and scientist in the digital documentation of the region’s cultural history is considered a key element and critical to the success of the program.

Our programs teach students to use state of the art reality capture technology to create 3D models of historic San Jose homes, artifacts and property. The program empowers students by giving them the technical skills, guidance and opportunity to document their environment using the same technology that is used in archeology, architecture, construction, design, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, forensic investigations, surveying and geometrics. Based upon the principles of advanced geometry and trigonometry, our program(s) are creating a digital record of our cultural heritage and environment for future researcher, educators and scientist. This is a unique, hands-on, action based program that focuses on the practical application of technology rather than extensive lecture and class work. Our partners include the Santa Clara County Office of Education, History Park, JFK University and the Silicon Valley Black Chamber of Commerce.

Trolley Barn

During the first week of camp, students learn to use laser scanners to capture dimensional and structural data from buildings at History Park in San Jose. The second week of camp, students learn to process laser scan data using state of the art 3D software at the campus of Cogswell College.

The educational benefits of such a unique project are only one aspect of our long range goal. The development of a 3D historic cultural archive will provide guest, visitors and users with access to historic research and data that would otherwise only be available to people live in the Bay Area and can visit History Park by appointment. Our data will be available online and accessible from any internet ready computer, tablet or workstation in the world.

The establishment of this project represents a paradigm shift in education and access to information. The digital database created through this project will be archived at History Park. The data can be used for research, planning, seismic analysis, environmental monitoring, education, historic preservation and tourism. The end product will affect the way cities, regions and business entities conduct outreach as well as influence new trends in tourism and visitor services.