Immersive 716: Exploring the History of Buffalo

Buffalo, New York was once one of many Great Lakes cities to make up the heart of the Rust Belt. Prior to World War II, the city was home to large manufacturing endeavors, including US steel, coal, and ship building. After the war, the city’s population began to gradually decline as people opted to move to local suburbs or out of state for other employment opportunities. What remained were countless buildings that tell the rich, cultural history of Buffalo. As time progressed, the area has shown tremendous signs of recovery with countless areas of the city trending in a positive direction with people opting to live in the city once again.

UB Libraries is partnering with the Experiential Learning Network to offer students the opportunity to work on a cutting-edge Virtual Reality (VR) project aimed at documenting the landmarks, history, and environment of the city of Buffalo through 360° photographs. We are actively looking for students to join our team as content creators. If you are interested in history, architecture, sociology, environmental studies, virtual reality, photography, and the arts, please contact us.

Groups of students will collaborate to identify historic landmarks, landscapes, cultural centers, and more within the city of Buffalo to be documented using the Libraries’ 360° cameras. They may also choose from a list of significant places and features identified by project mentors. Students will then edit the footage using the Libraries’ professional editing software and incorporate relevant library resources (e.g. maps, government information, statistics, articles, etc.). Students will be expected to provide metatags for the files prior to being entered in the Western New York Library Resource Council’s ESIE Repository. Students can also earn a micro-credentialed badge in the process.
Students should come with an idea of what project site and/or topic they would like to pursue.

Potential project sites include:

• Darwin D. Martin House (Parkside/North Buffalo) 
  
• Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens (South Buffalo) 
  
• Theodore Roosevelt Inauguration Site (Downtown Buffalo) 
  
• Forest Lawn Cemetery (Parkside/North Buffalo)
  
• Elmwood Village/Allentown (West Side/Downtown Buffalo) 
  
• Buffalo Central Terminal (East Side of Buffalo) 
  
• Fountain Plaza and Main Street (Downtown Buffalo) 
  
• Hertel Neighborhoods (Parkside/North Buffalo)
  
• The Buffalo Zoo (Parkside/North Buffalo)
  
• Larkinville (South Side of Buffalo)
  
• Students may also consider themes such as: native or invasive species, geologic formations, business & economy of the Great Lakes, and historic landmarks.

• Identify historical districts, areas, or landmarks within the city of Buffalo 
  
• Learn to use a 360° camera, video editing software, and tagging conventions 
  
• Edit footage using professional, studio-quality software
  
• Submit finished footage into an institutional repository
  
• Compose a narrative report or reflective essay about the project, or create an interactive webpage or graphic about the specific location using ArcGIS StoryMaps or Canva. This should incorporate related library resources.
  

• Western New York Library Resources Council (WNYLRC)

• Before beginning this project, students should download the Insta360 app.
  
• Students come with an idea of what project site and/or topic they would like to pursue from the list in the Project Description section above. Students should also conduct initial research on their site/topic of interest.

University Libraries, Library