Last month, a group of city residents and students spent a day traveling around the city as part of the Futurescape City Tours project, which encourages people to think about how new technology can shape their community’s future.
The program, funded by the National Science Foundation, selected six cities in the U.S. and Canada to participate. On Nov. 16, the Springfield group toured the city, visiting the Springfield History Museum, the state data center at the former Tech High, Putnam High and Indian Orchard Mills. “Springfield participants, including Congressman Richard Neal, took a guided walking tour of the city last month, documenting their experiences with photographs depicting Springfield’s rich history of innovation in technology and manufacturing,” according to a press release from UMass Amherst. “Participants also captured images of present and potential sites for future technologies that have the potential to enhance quality of life and promote new industries within the city.”
UMass hosted the event, and students from a community-based learning class there have been active in the project.
On Thursday, the group will share its experiences from that day at a reception marking the opening of an exhibit. The program will include comments from participants, a slideshow of photos from the tour and a “makers space” where, organizers say, visitors can “tinker with and share hands-on engineering projects.”
The reception takes place on Thursday, Dec. 12, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the UMass Design Center at Court Square.
