Final Project 1 — The Pitch 

This project will focus on creating interactive models of historical objects housed in Carleton’s archives. Ideally, we will work with objects excavated by the Carleton Archaeology Department, however, if there are not enough objects from these collections we will work with the Perlman Teaching Museum. With this project we are aiming to increase the digital accessibility of these objects, as well as to promote the archival collections that Carleton hosts. The unique tag for our project’s posts will be Modeling Carleton’s Past. 

As stated, we hope to use objects from Carleton’s archives, sourced from either the Archaeology department or the Perlman Teaching Museum. If engaging with sources from the former, we would focus on objects excavated from the site of the Women’s League Cabin, located in the Arboretum. If using sources from the Perlman Teaching Museum, we would perhaps focus on their numismatics collection, some of which was displayed during the fall term as part of the “Bank Job” exhibit. 

After identifying the physical objects that we will be working with, we will use photogrammetry software and/or the light tent and MetaShape to construct 3D models of the artifacts. These models will be hosted on a web page for our project, which will include detailed metadata for each object, the interactive models, as well as information about how the objects are connected both to each other and to Carleton. If we are able to focus on objects from the Women’s League Cabin, we may also create a digital setting in which they are displayed, using a program such as Blender. Such a presentation would provide viewers with more information about the objects’ use and placement in their historical context, and would also result in further engagement and collaboration with research conducted by the Archaeology department. 

We hope to know within the next few days about which source of objects we will be using. From there, we will be able to begin the work of photographing, modeling, and presenting these artifacts. A preliminary timeline for this project might be as follows:

• Completed by the end of 8th week: all photography of objects and collection of relevant metadata for display in final product. 
• Completed by the end of 9th week: all 3D models of objects, completed either using photogrammetry apps or MetaShape (likely the latter, given the possession of cameras among group members)
• Completed by March 10: draft of web page hosting the models, metadata, and context. 
• Completed by March 18: final version of the project. 

In exploring other final projects for DGAH 110, we identified Thorpe Pool 3D Tour and Carleton’s Mascots as ones with potential connections to our own, at least in terms of their methodology. The former project used 3D modeling software to produce a model of Thorpe Pool; this group’s attempts to model physical spaces on Carleton’s campus are similar to what we hope to achieve in reconstructing the Women’s League Cabin as a setting for our objects. The latter project, Carleton’s Mascots, consists of 3D models, context, and metadata about prominent mascots at Carleton, and is similar to our efforts in terms of methodology and presentation. 

Personal interest: 

Joella Shearer: A large part of my interest in DH work comes from a desire to work in public history and in museums more specifically. Creating accessible collections, especially using digital tools like 3D modeling, is a big part of this; as such, I’m hoping that this project will allow me to gain more skills that I might be able to apply in a museum setting, and that it will help make Carleton’s collections more accessible to the broader public.

Conrado Peña Lemes: As a prospective CS major I am interested by the challenges that this project will create in terms of the technology aspect of it. Whilst most will potentially arise from the digitization of the items, I am mostly intrigued by the potential challenges we will face in terms of presentation, whether we create a website using taught technologies like WordPress and MetaVerse or if we will be using different ones such as Bootstrap and traditional 3D modeling through the replication of the item with Blender or Fusion360.

Sam Much: As an archaeology minor I’m very interested in creating accessible collections of archaeological objects that otherwise would not usually be available for study or display. If we do get permission to do the Women’s League Cabin I’d like to revisit some of the 3D scans I made last term for Archaeological Methods, as I think I now have the skills to create more faithful and realistic scans. I’m excited by the prospect of fixing some of the aspects of that project that I needed more time to improve. It will also give me an opportunity to dig more into the site and the objects that may have eluded me and others in the fall. 

Simon Noble- I love 3D modeling and want to gain experience exploring different types of modeling while exploring the Carleton Archives. Learning more about the College’s history is intriguing and I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to explore it freely like this. One of the main reasons that I took this class was to see if I’d be willing to pursue a DGAH minor, and this seems like a good way to get a feel for the types of things I would like to do if I were to pursue a career with these aspects in the future.