A city, which has introduced us to everything from the world’s first factory to Lara Croft, is now transforming the visitor experience.
At the cutting edge of industry and technology for centuries, Derby’s latest innovation has been to reinvent the way in which visitors to the city can discover what makes it so special.
Drawing on the work of local artists Tim Clapcott and Arnold Pollock – as well as its history, industrial heritage, and present-day creative genius – Derby now offers its visitors an augmented reality town trail, which brings together all aspects of public art, open-air museums, and a self-guided trail.
The walk-of-fame trail uses public art installations with computer-generated information to tell the Derby story through the people who have made a significant contribution to the city.
Eight Made In Derby stars have already appeared in the high street; and from September, “Made in Derby II” will reveal several more.
Physically, each one is made of locally-forged cast iron – one of the many key industries associated with Derby. Artistically, each one depicts a leading light of the city. And in terms of augmented reality, each one “pops-up” to engage with the visitor to show how their story has helped contribute towards the very essence of Derby.
The individuals being depicted come from all walks of life, but have either been born, or “Made In Derby” – and have made an impact on the city, left their impression on the city, or have an intrinsic connection with the city.
As far as possible, everything connected with this has also been Made In Derby, including the App which visitors download in order to interact with this artistic and entertaining town trail.
Now set to increase in scale and significance with the unveiling of Made in Derby II, the trail may also leave other destinations around the globe wondering whether Derby has once again created a world’s first.
Each plaque has an augmented reality feature, which superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, via a smart-phone, and allows people a way of learning more about the individuals and their achievements.
The Made in Derby invention works especially well in a destination like Derby, where theDNA of the city can be traced to both industrial heritage, and cutting-edge technology. It also allows the famous names associated with Derby to tell their own stories, and to leave visitors better-placed to understand exactly what it is that has made it the city it is today.
Visitors to Derby will simply need to use the free WiFi hotspot to download the “Made in Derby” app. It is available to download from Google Play and the Apple App Store. Scan the plaque to find out more…
For further details, visit www.visitderby.co.uk/madeinderby.
More traditional tourist information, meanwhile, can still be found at http://www.visitderby.co.uk.
Derby’s historyand heritagewill also becelebratedin2020 on the site of the world’s first factory, whenthecityopensamajor new£17m Museum of Making. LocatedintheDerwentValleyMillsUNESCOWorldHeritageSite, itwillbeacontemporaryspacetellingDerby’s300-yearhistoryofinnovation and “making”.
Revealingthewholebuildingtothepublicfortheveryfirsttime, thenewMuseumwilldisplayover50,000objectsincludingtheRolls-RoyceEagleEngine, whichhelpedpowerthefirsttransatlanticflight100 yearsagoinJune1919.
ThisconcepthasbeendevelopedbyDerbyMuseumsincollaborationwiththelocalcommunity, it willhelptoshapethewayinwhichDerbyisunderstoodandappreciated- thankstothe long list ofinnovators, makersandcreatorsassociated with the city.
Forfurtherupdates, follow@MuseumofMakingand #MakingtheMuseumofMaking, or visit https://www.derbymuseums.org/locations/museum-of-making.
Another development for Derby in the summer of 2020, will be the appearance of a number of very colourful and highly visible rams throughout the city centre.
The story goes that people travelled from all over the country to see the legendary Derby ram. In common with similar trails in other UK city centres, which have been successful in bringing thousands of visitors, it is hoped that the new trail will do the same once it opens to the public in June, 2020. Best of all, it will be a free, walkable art sculpture trail that will take people around the highlights of the city centre.
Further details can be found at http://www.derbyramtrail.org, @DerbyRamTrail, and #TheRamsAreComing.