A view to the past

WALLACE — Getting Idaho high school students involved with STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) courses and projects has been a big priority in the state for several years now. Through the financial help of great programs like the University of Idaho’s Dig'nIT Program and local scholarships, two Wallace Jr./Sr. High School students and one Mullan Jr./Sr. High School recently had access to some hands-on STEM experience this summer as paid interns at Gravis Technologies, Inc.

Gravis Tech co-owner Sera White, U of I Cd’A Community Development Specialist Sheri Bullock, and U of I Cd’A Marketing and Communications Manager Katie Marshall sat down with two of these students at the Gravis Tech office in Wallace on Tuesday to recap what the team had been working on during their eight-week internship.

What WHS student Vincent Schmidt and MHS student Ace Hess unveiled was the Historical Burke Tour project.

With roots in a project that Gravis Tech kicked off roughly four years ago, dubbed “​​Tour the Missing Buildings of Wallace,” this Burke Canyon specific project takes things one step further with the goal of immersing someone in the history of the area with the help of technology. When the site goes live, visitors will be able to see sites from many of the canyon’s old mining towns by utilizing panoramic images (around-me tours), then and now images taken from (roughly) the same spots, and colorized black and white images.

White explains that the locations selected tie directly into a real-life tour of the area given by Burke native Charlie Mooney.

“He’ll take you to each one of these spots and he’ll say, ‘you’re standing here’ and he’ll give you an anecdote about that spot.”

With the information provided from Mooney, the interns were able to research and assemble a product that offers an impressive look into the area’s past.

“Each of the tiny towns from Gem to Burke would have its own stop and its own information,” Schmidt said.

For example, a stop in Gem on the website offers an around-me tour, which is then incorporated with icons that direct attention to areas of interest, such as the now-missing Frisco Mine Complex. These icons can then be selected to reveal more information and/or photos of that specific location. The around-me tour feature can also utilize certain types of virtual reality headsets to get an even more immersive experience.

“You can actually go to that space and immerse yourself while touring remotely,” White said.

Schmidt, whose internship was funded through the Dig'nIT Program, was responsible for developing the back-end of the website — which included adding text, pictures, graphics and forming URLs.

Brenden Hines, a WHS student whose internship was funded through the local Morbeck Foundation, was responsible for taking pictures and setting up the “around-me” portion of the tour.

Ace, the other intern funded through the Dig'nIT Program, tackled the artistic side of the project by creating the unique graphics found all over the website and colorizing many of the old black and white photos.

White finds the colorized photos particularly interesting, as the inclusion of color can make the scene feel more relatable and can even unveil certain things that were hidden in the original due to poor lighting.

Moving forward, the group plans to continue developing the project by adding new features including audio content and even transferring the idea to application for a true in-person experience. White hopes to be able to publish a link for the website in the immediate future.

This is the first year that Gravis Tech has taken on interns from the U of I Dig'nIT Program, which Bullock explains began in 2013 with an all-girls coding camp.

“Since then, it has grown into all different kinds of STEM related camps, as well as an internship program. This is the ninth year that we have placed kids with interested partners that focus primarily on tech,” she said.

This internship is also the first time Dig'nIT has been involved with students outside Kootenai County.

The Morbeck Foundation has donated more than $2.8 million since its inception in 2001 and accepts applications for both youth and community categories.

Schmidt said that he enjoyed the hands-on experience he received during his Gravis Tech internship, believing that it may help him in achieving his goal of designing video games.

“It really catered toward the career that I want to go into and this is a great introduction,” he said.

Hess also enjoyed the experience, as it helped her better understand what she wants to do after high school.

“I just wanted to feel out what I want to do as a career, because I have no idea. This has been a really great opportunity to find out what I like and what I don’t like,” she said.

White echoed their sentiments that the internship was positive for all involved.

“It’s awesome, I’m so happy that they are here. They’re amazing,” she said.

For more information on Gravis Technologies, Inc., visit its website at https://gravistech.com/.

For the University of Idaho’s Dig'nIT Program, visit https://www.uidaho.edu/cda/outreach/dignit or contact Marshall at 208-664-7022.