BC's history is in jeopardy.

In the early 1900s, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) employed Swiss mountain guides to take tourists through the mountains in Golden, BC. To make them more comfortable, the CPR constructed six Swiss-style chalets in an assemblage called Edelweiss Village. Since then, Golden BC — and Edelweiss Village — have been a draw for visitors from around the world and a cornerstone of community history.

Now, though, the homes making up Edelweiss Village are for sale. Unless we can find a way to preserve them, the history they represent and the stories they hold are doomed to vanish.

So, we asked ourselves: how might we tell Edelweiss Village's stories and preserve its history without possessing the buildings?

The solution

We've decided to digitally simulate Edelweiss Village through the years with the help of the Time Machine project.

Initiated in Venice, Italy, in 2013, the Time Machine project aims to create "a collective digital information system mapping...economic, social, cultural and geographical evolution across times." It's not a simple slideshow or video simulation — it's a living, breathing digital infrastructure that will let visitors explore the essence of Edelweiss Village at any time, and from anywhere in the world, through technology.

Here's our preliminary plan for making the Edelweiss Village Time Machine a reality: https://www.beautiful.ai/player/-Mh-S4fnrWOBfSjaGGlr

How you can help

Digitally preserving six buildings is no small task — we'll need support from organizations with a reverence for history. As a student intrapreneur with the Edelweiss Village Time Machine project:

- you'll be responsible for developing a detailed project outline containing a comprehensive list of milestones.

- You'll source entities who financially support cultural and/or architectural preservation projects and let them know why they should care about this Golden pillar.

- And, you'll get in touch with virtual and augmented reality companies to find the people we can entrust with this precious piece of history.

As part of this project, you'll be working with Conexkt — who has been involved with similar projects, like the Valais-Wallis Time Machine, since 2017.

Working with Conexkt, you'll have flexibility and independence to exercise your creative visions, support from all sides when you need it and will be surrounded by experts continuously committed to improving themselves and their fields.

BC's history is in jeopardy. But you can help save it.

HOW MANY STUDENT INTRAPRENEURS WILL THIS PROJECT ACCOMMODATE?

2

TIME COMMITMENT PER STUDENT/TEMPS DE TRAVAIL PAR ÉTUDIANT:

70 hours

KEY PROJECT ACTIVITIES/TÂCHES ASSOCIÉES AU PROJET:

• Developing a detailed project outline/strategic plan
• Writing a project/grant proposal for Digital Museums Canada, the Heritage Legacy Fund and Columbia Basin Trust
• Investigating and identifying other possible grants who could support this project: Mainly grants focused on digital preservation/building preservation/cultural preservation
• Researching virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR)
• Pinpointing, connecting with and requesting quotes from VR and AR companies who could digitize or 3D model the chalets
• Outlining an official project budget

IDEAL ROLES/RESPONSIBILITIES/RÔLES/RESPONSABILITÉS:*

• Market researcher
• Grant writer
• Project proposal developer

FINAL PROJECT DELIVERABLES/LIVRABLES DU PROJET:

• Project outline/strategic plan
• Pitch/grant proposal for Digital Museums Canada Deadline: October 27, 2021 at 5 p.m. EDT
• Pitch/grant proposal for Heritage Legacy Fund: Next intake is in Spring 2022
• Pitch/grant proposal for Columbia Basin Trust

IN WHAT LANGUAGE WILL THIS PROJECT BE PROVIDED/DANS QUELLE LANGUE CE PROJET SERA-T-IL FOURNI: (English/Français)

English

PROJECT MENTOR NAME/NOM DU MENTOR DU PROJET:

• Johann Roduit, PhD (co-founder, Conexkt)
• Alexandre Luyet (co-founder, Conexkt)
• Brittany Newman (Director, Golden BC Museum)