HIDDEN HISTORIESCAPTURING THE LAYERS OF CITIES BY MAPPING MEMORIES

THE IDEA

Pairing tech-savvy youth with older

adults

To create custom digital maps of their cities

based on memories, lost places, favorite

haunts, and unforgettable stories

Bringing together the people and

places we see everyday

ATTRACTING INVOLVEMENT

High school / college program

Signs / stickers at existing Hidden

Histories locations

Signs / ads at participating local

businesses

Link or hashtag on friend’s social

media post

Sponsor – Ancestry.com or Google Maps ad

Word of mouth (via friends or grandparents)

Local church, community center, historical society,

elderly care facilitySigns / stickers at existing Hidden

Histories locations

Signs / ads at participating local

businesses

AARP brochure / mailing lists

Sponsor – Ancestry.com or Google Maps ad

Word of mouth (via friends or grandchildren)

Youth Elderly

ACTIVITY TIMELINEMatching

Youth and elderly participants sign up for Hidden Histories

Pairs are matched based on location, interests, and type of project (digital or

physical experience)

Pairs accept match and are given each other’s preferred contact details

Pairs get in touch, discuss project, and register a Target Completion Date

on Hidden Histories site

Hidden History site informs pair about any upcoming local Hidden Histories

exhibitions they can participate in

Mapping

Pairs begin mapping – either through walks around city or on a computer

(using Hidden Histories step-by-step guide and Trip Journal)

Photos, descriptions, and videos added to pinned locations

Sharing

Maps are completed and shared with friends and family

Youth gets school credit or “badge points” for completing project / posting

photos with #HiddenHistories

Maps can be printed or shared globally through Hidden History site

Pair can participate in exhibition at local school or community center

Sponsors can purchase or obtain permission to use map information for

city guides / family history sites

TESTING: PLATFORM

Consider creating a Jauntful version to be printed or a physical display for a local exhibition

Share with friends and family via email

Upload photos to Flikr and attach via URL

Incorporate photos from Google Image Search or online

Add pins and edit Description

Create a new Google Map

TESTING: PROCESS

Successes

• Brought up history – family, geographic, American pop culture

• Located unknown addresses through nearby landmarks, Google web and Google Image searches

• Enjoyable experience• Preserving memories• Seeing what locations look like today• Remembering new details• Finding pictures online of how it was• Reminder to reconnect with old friends

• Felt like a record had been created for the future – children and grandchildren can go without the originator and still see family history

Difficulties

• Pin reliance on exact locations causes frustration, accuracy seen as important

• Personal photos need to be scanned and uploaded• Need a URL to be incorporated into

map so must use Flickr or other public way of posting

• Time consuming for youth – tendency to leave for later or do separately, not involve older adult• Eliminates learning opportunity

• Searching takes time – if trying to do together, can be frustrating• Feeling that something is missing if the

mystery is never solved

Lessons learned, achievements, and frustrations experienced while mapping my mother’s childhood in Santa Monica, CA (from her kitchen table in New York, NY)

TESTING: RESULTS

TESTING: RESULTS

TESTING: RESULTS

TESTING: RESULTS

TESTING: LEARNING

Youth Feelings• Skills are valued – searching,

uploading photos• Doing good – both for the mentee

and greater community• Sense of longevity and shared

culture

Youth Benefits• Learning about history – national,

cultural, geographic, ethnic (i.e. pop culture, major historical events)

• Discovering new places• Connection to mentee and involved

parties

Older Adult Feelings• Excitement around rediscovery• Nostalgia• Sense of accomplishment –

remembering places, discovering more details

• Relief that memories will be preserved

Older Adult Benefits• Greater facility in using search tools

and online maps• Opportunity to share memories with

friends and family, future generations

• Preservation of knowledge and photos

PLATFORMS / PARTNERS

Google Maps

Trip Journal

Wikitude Jauntful

Ancestry.com

NEXT STEPS• Testing

• Rural locations• Physical walks• Foreign locations

• Speak with sponsors / platforms

• Additional functionality – can they add helpful features• Sponsoring events and meet-ups

• Possible events

• Matching meet-ups• City-wide exhibitions at local school or historical society

• Ideas for expansion

• Gamification – development of an app with badges/points (make it more of a “treasure hunt”)

• Group maps – bringing people together around shared history• Transferring data into city guides, other resources