Real, virtual sculptures created in kids' camp co-sponsored by IAC

Miniature monsters inhabited real and virtual worlds after their creation by high school-age students in a 2015 summer camp co-sponsored by Texas A&M’s [Institute for Applied Creativity] (http://creativity.arch.tamu.edu//) .

In the camp, called Sculptures in Augmented Reality, students created clay models from their drawings of monsters, photographed the models from numerous angles, then used software to create a virtual monster from the photos that could be viewed in 3-D on a mobile phone using [Google Cardboard] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Cardboard) , a virtual reality viewer.

Guided by camp instructor Schaefer Mitchell, a Texas A&M [Master of Science in Visualization] (http://viz.arch.tamu.edu/graduate/ms-viz-curriculum/) student, campers also learned how to use [Augment] (http://www.augmentedev.com) , an application that enabled them to view a 3-D representation of their model in the “real” world with a mobile device.

“None of the campers had used 3-D software before, so there was a learning curve, but they picked it up really quickly,” said Mitchell.

The camp, which featured two one-week sessions, took place at [SEAD Academy] (http://seadacademy.agxdev.com) in downtown Bryan. The academy is operated by camp co-sponsor [AdventGX] (http://adventgx.agxdev.com) , a company that helps communities [develop tourism and economic development strategies] (http://seadnetwork.wordpress.com/white-paper-abstracts/final-white-papers/how-sead-network-can-advance-experimental-economics-a-case-study-of-innovation-and-entrepreneurship-in-support-of-rural-community-and-economic-development/) .

Creations from both sessions will be on display Sept. 4 at AdventGX’s SEAD Gallery, 216 W 26th St., during Bryan’s [First Friday] (http://www.downtownbryan.com/play/1stfriday/) activities.