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Technology Clinic

INDS 321 & 322 - Technology Clinic - a small group of selected students work together with faculty mentors to solve a real-world problem proposed by an industrial or government sponsor, addressing the social, technological, and economic factors relevant to a solution. Students work on campus as a team and at times independently and on-site with the sponsors.

Our Technology Clinic group worked on two main tasks. The first was to create an unguided tour of The 1753 Bachmann Publick House of Easton, PA using modern technology. The second task was to expand one area of the museum that focuses on Currency and Trade in the period from 1750-1850.

Concerning the first task, there are mainly volunteers working at this museum, so they needed a way to create an informative, captivating tour without having a volunteer give the tour. Our solution was to use a handheld PalmPilot which would visually show the user where they are in the museum along with in-depth audio about each room. My role for this project was to recommend the best device to use and create the program which would display the desired information. For this I chose the HP iPaq Pocket PC and programmed it using Flash and HTML. To the right is the welcome screen that greets the user.

History of the Bachmann Publick House

This is the oldest building in Easton and was originally a tavern and hotel. Since there were no government buildings in Easton at that time, it also served as the first courthouse in North Hampton County. This tavern served a the main public area for town members to meet, trade goods, and settle disputes.

In the 1900s this historic tavern became run-down and was not properly maintained. In 1993 Sadie Stauffer of Nazareth, PA, an avid lover of Easton's cultural past, donated $500,000 to restore the tavern and turn it into a museum. The restoration was finally completed in 2002 and opened to the public.