Eagle Project

My Vision

The village of Mount Tabor in Parsippany, New Jersey is full of rich history and charm. I created an experience that makes this history more accessible to both curious visitors and residents of Mount Tabor. To do this, I to developed a digitally enhanced self-guided walking tour of the village called "Discover Historic Mount Tabor" that enables people to learn more about this delightful place known for its picturesque Victorian gingerbread cottages standing shoulder-to-shoulder on narrow streets. Through this unique Eagle Project, I made a large outdoor museum highly integrated with the community. My tour has been an asset to the community by:

Project Description

The tour consists of 20 signs placed around Mount Tabor. Each sign describes a corresponding area of the village (e.g. the library). Notably, they each contain a QR code that links to the Mount Tabor Historical Society Website. This allows relatively small (6”x9”) signs to link to a website that contains a far more detailed narrative of the corresponding area, featuring historical images. The user can see the site in front of them while also being able to visualize what it used to look like. This web-integrated approach also allows for additional flexibility, since website content can be edited at any time to feature changes in the area since the creation of the tour. The benefits of smaller signs and the fact that audio and video can be added in the future are very valuable. 

Here is an introduction to the tour:

https://mounttabornj.org/history/welcome-2/

Webpage Development

I used WordPress to develop the web pages. The Mount Tabor Historical Society provided a well-kept archive, helping me create a set of 20 well-written web pages that accurately represented the history of Mount Tabor. They also provided me with many resources that would help me write the content. This included two books, a magazine article about the area, and pamphlets about the village. They also provided me with access to resources stored in their servers. A group consisting of scouts from my troop as well as may other peers helped create the 20 web pages. After editing from the Mount Tabor Historical Society, these were published to the website. 

Navigation

To help the users navigate the tour, I designed and embedded an interactive map into my site. This map contains numbered tour markers highlighting the physical location of the signs that I developed. When the user clicks on a particular icon, a page that contains access to the tour opens up. This map also allows people who are unable to travel to Mount Tabor to learn more about its history. 

The map was created with Google MyMaps. I have included an embed here for illustrative purposes.

Sign Fabrication

By far, the most challenging aspect of the project was creating the 20 signs that would be placed around Mount Tabor. I decided not to order the signs from a vendor and was heavily involved in the process of sign creation. 

One of the most challenging parts of the project was creating 20 printed sign plates, that could then be affixed to a signplate. Making these sign plates was a multi-step process that involved creating blanks and printing them. In order to do this, I worked with Mr. Matthew Enslow, a signmaker at KDJ Total Solutions. Sign plates were made out of aluminum composite material and cut out with a CNC machine. From there, UV ink was used to print on the signs, including the QR codes. Throughout this process, I faced numerous production issues, such as parts of the sign not being cut or printed properly. By filing, I was able to solve issues where blanks were cut with extra burrs. I learned a lot about signmaking, printing, and engineering through this process. 

I used AutoCAD to design a bracket that would connect the signplate and the signpost at an angle and place screws at appropriate points on the sign. The bracket was shaped like a T so that it would be connected perpendicularly to the signpost and allow the bolts to be placed in a horizontal line. I also added a 45-degree bend into this T-bracket to make a pedestal sign that is easy to scan. With the design for signage complete and the parts ordered and manufactured, I was ready to begin installation.


Sign Installation

To install signs, I mounted them onto a 5’ enamel-coated steel fence post. Using a fence post pounder, I pounded these posts into the ground. Since I was working on rocky glacial till, I often ran into rocks and other natural features that required me to move the signs slightly from the originally planned locations. After installing the signposts with a minimum depth of 18 inches, I bolted on the brackets. One trick that I used was actually hammering the bolts once the bracket was connected. This made it impossible to undo the nuts, making thievery extremely difficult. I then bolted the signs to the bracket, using a deep-socket wrench to tighten the bolts as much as possible. This was another measure to ensure the longevity of the signs and prevent vandalism. Some of the signs were screwed into existing wooden fences. This allowed me to avoid unnecessarily using materials and disturbing the environment while putting the signs in well-traversed locations adjacent to major pathways. 

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the following people and groups for their valuable contributions to my Eagle project.