A real-time visual simulation model currently under construction

Real-time visual simulation technology has the potential to radically alter our understanding of historic urban environments. Unlike fixed computer animations, real-time technology allows interactive exploration of the modeled site, thereby creating unprecedented opportunities for experiential interpretation and innovative pedagogy. The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 is a perfect test case for the educational applications of this remarkable technology. The exposition was a milestone for American architecture and urban planning. As Director of Works, Daniel Burnham coordinated a team of the most notable architects in the country, each designing one of the fair’s major buildings. As a group, these architects created a classical city that would have lasting repercussions on American design ideals and spark the American Renaissance and City Beautiful movements. Our understanding of this important complex has heretofore been based solely on static images and written descriptions. This is no longer the case. Real-time visual simulation technology allows us to reclaim the lost experience of navigating through the White City. Just as in 1893, the completed model will allow users to stroll along the virtual Court of Honor, tour the Wooded Island, and marvel at the fair’s classical structures from a gondola.

SAMPLE VIDEO CLIPS: Click on the following links to view 640x480 clips captured from the model during a real-time flight session. These clips are intended for classroom use; instructors, feel free to download them and show them to your students. There is purposefully no sound so that they can be incorporated into a range of classroom narratives. Please e-mail constructive comments to Lisa M. Snyder (lms@ucla.edu). Of particular interest are thoughts on content (What is best for your class? What else would you like to show to your students?), pacing (Too fast, too slow?), duration (What's the best length for classroom use?), visual style, and suggestions for improvement (How can the clips be modified to better work in your classroom?). The clips will be updated per instructors' comments and as work on the model progresses.

With funding from The Brinson Foundation, a limited edition of DVDs with higher resolution clips (1024x768) has been fabricated and can be sent to educators free of charge. To request a copy, e-mail lms@ucla.edu with your name, the name of your school/institution, the title of the class in which you'd use the footage, the level of your students, and your mailing address.

MOST RECENT FILES -- March 2008
(1) Court of Honor footage with embedded source imagery (4:10; images and filters to create the 'old footage' segments were added in post-production)
(2) Court of Honor footage at pedestrian level (9:47)
(3) Boat ride through the Lagoon with embedded images (2:57; images added in post-production)
(4) Boat ride from the Court of Honor to the Fine Arts Building at dusk (6:34)
(5) Walk along the Mall in the northern end of the exposition (8:09; shows state buildings for Maine, Vermont, Massachussets, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Nebraska)
(6) The Fine Arts Building with embedded images (3:45; images added in post-production)

OLDER FILES WITH DIFFERENT (AND THEREFORE) INTERESTING VIEWS
(7) Two clips from the same raw footage of the Court of Honor with different post-production filters: the lost footage (1:54, appears as very old film), and watercolor (1:54, a painterly approach)
(8) Two clips of the state building zone: approach to FineArts from the south (0:58), and a looser cinemagraphic take (1:04)
(9) Flight from Wooded Island to the Court of Honor (1:12)

STUDENT SURVEYS: Click on the following links to read what students in undergraduate students had to say about using the interactive real-time simulation model of the exposition as an instructional technology: UCLA summer course on 20th century American history, UofH large-enrollment history class, and small UofH 'America through Sight & Sound' seminar. (Thanks to UCLA's Academic Technology Services for use of equipment in these classroom sessions.)

The Columbian Exposition model builds on the Urban Simulation Team’s experience with contemporary urban environments and cultural heritage sites. The project is currently a work in progress. Plans for dissemination beyond the UCLA campus have yet to be determined. Inquiries from instructors, scholars, or institutions interested in collaboration or educational applications are welcome and should be directed to Lisa M. Snyder (lms@ucla.edu). Special thanks to the Brinson Foundation for supporting the research and construction of the Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota state buildings.

SINGLE PAGE FLYER: Click on the following link to open a short, printable flyer about the exposition project.

STATIC IMAGES: The images below illustrate the project under development. They are organized by date in descending order, so the topmost images show the most recent work with the ones at the bottom being the oldest.