Copyright © 2015 Albuquerque Journal
Once upon a time, not far from the modern town of Bernalillo, a village called Kuaua flourished on the banks of the Rio Grande for hundreds of years.
Then, around 1540, an expedition led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado arrived from New Spain in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Before long, due to friction between the Spanish and native Tiwa people, the Tiwa abandoned the pueblo. Before long, time began to take its toll.
In the 1930s, archaeologists excavated the pueblo, and in 1940, the Coronado Historic Site opened its gates.
On Saturday, it officially celebrates its 75th anniversary with a brand-new but authentic look: Media arts students from New Mexico Highlands University worked last semester, blending technology and design, to create an interactive exhibit that allows more people to experience pueblo life, circa AD 1300.
“The students’ innovative work makes this historic site more accessible to the public through interactive elements like the ‘Build Your Own Pueblo’ touch screen and an engaging mobile app of exhibit information,” said Ethan Ortega, a historian, archaeologist and ranger for the Coronado Historic Site, who refers to the site as “a hidden gem.”
“The graphics and design they developed are stunning, drawing you into the story of what it was like to live in the Kuaua village in ancient times,” Ortega said. “The video blends beautiful imagery, historical photographs and a well-written script to capture the mystery of the site.”
Craig Cassidy was one of 14 Highlands media arts students who worked on the project. They formed three teams – design, video and multimedia.
The design team took one look at the old exhibit and knew, immediately, what was needed: a complete remodeling. “It was old and kind of all over the place,” said Cassidy, who graduated this month.
The video team found that the old informational video was just that – old. It was also outdated. So the team created a new one based on Kuaua, with a storyboard and narrative, and added animation.
“As a member of the video team, I was able to identify areas at the Taos Pueblo where filming wouldn’t violate the sacred areas, which was rewarding,” student Monica García said.
Taos Pueblo provides a glimpse of what Kuaua would have looked like hundreds of years ago.
“Not only were we working with a real-world client, which is invaluable; this exhibit project also gave us the opportunity to work with cultural stakeholders to assure that Native American traditions and points of view were respected and represented,” said Shane Flores, who wrote the script for the video.
Cassidy was part of the multimedia team.
“We worked on bringing new interactive components and technology to the museum itself,” he said. Now visitors can download an app to an iPad, walk through the site and receive different information, depending on where you are walking, he said.
His contribution is the iPad game called Build Your Own Pueblo. The iPad is built into a wall in the museum, and uses 3D printing technology to interact with the user.
“Basically, I got together with rangers who helped me imagine what the pueblo looked like,” Cassidy said.
This summer, he plans to upgrade Build Your Own Pueblo, replacing the iPad with a touch-screen table.
A second interactive game is expected be completed this summer.
Cassidy said the students had only one semester to devote to the project – “not much time when you think about it.”
“This wonderfully designed and installed exhibit provides a sense of time travel back 1,000 years,” said Richard Sims, director of New Mexico Historic Sites. “I am so delighted with the media arts students’ performance that I’m considering how their many talents could be applied to other historic sites in New Mexico.”
Kuaua, once again, thrives.
