The augmented reality application Augmented Terrassa, promoted by the Museum of Science and Technology of Catalonia (mNACTEC) and Terrassa City Council, has become the central plank of the multidisciplinary project "Discovering Terrassa" undertaken by third-year secondary school students at the Institut Torre del Palau in Terrassa.
On 11 June the students began a self-guided pathway on the historic courtyard of the Museum, supported by teachers and mNACTEC staff, taking in the most distinctive buildings of industrial and modernist Terrassa. For the second year running, the Institut Torre del Palau secondary school decided that the Augmented Terrassa application was the right educational tool to discover more about the past and present of Terrassa, from different perspectives: art, society, architecture, technology, etc. Before and after the field trip, additional activities were undertaken in the classroom to address the key topics.
Available for iOS and Android, the application provides a display of the real and virtual worlds in real time, inviting users on a tour of the key landmarks of the city, such as the Vapor Aymerich, Amat i Jover and the Masia Freixa, as well as a number of less familiar heritage sites, including the Cases de Cal Maurí. The application, developed by the i2cat Foundation, is a project of the mNACTEC and Terrassa City Council, within the context of the European CreativeCH project.
The multidisciplinary project comprises a range of interlocking learning and educational activities designed to ascertain whether the students have achieved the objectives set in various study areas, and to what extent, whether they can apply fundamental knowledge to resolve questions and problems connected with practical life. It is an activity that stimulates teamwork, research and interaction with their surroundings.
10 June 2015
