Exploring Local History: Christiansburg Institute and the CI-Spy application
August 22 - September 30, 2016

Each project I do is custom-made and you can see the frame for this project here. Early in the design process I pitched the idea of having the exhibit resemble a classroom from the the Christiansburg Institute. Our partners liked the idea so we ran with it.

The classroom idea led to the idea of having hardwood floors, which I was able to replicate. I was excited to employ my vinyl cutter to create the timeline of the school, which you can see began on the floor. My thought was that passers-by would notice it and, at the very least, become aware of the exhibit.

Here is the complete exhibit from two angles. The timeline coming up from the floor works well, but in the future I'll have to use more contrasting colors.

To help with the desired classroom feel I got an old wooden desk, reproduced teaching materials, a globe, and a portrait of Booker T. Washington. These elements were pulled from some photos of classrooms at the Christiansburg Institute.

I love the way this timeline turned out. At the opening reception, a woman who attended the Christiansburg Institute looked at these photos and named all her old classmates. It was great to witness some connecting with something I made.

The CI-Spy app was developed via an NSF grant by VT Public History, TLOS, and SOVA. It allows users to virtually explore the campus of the former Christiansburg Institute. It is intended to be run on an iPad and be carried around the real world for navigation. We ran a desktop version controlled via keyboard and mouse.