In our second in a series of outings around the U.S., we deployed the Field Trip app as our guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around us. It runs in the background on your phone and when you get close to something interesting, a card pops up with locational details. No click required. If you have a wired or Bluetooth® headset connected, it will read the info to you. Check out this post with video from Google Online Courses Google+ Page
With our DROID RAZR HD BY MOTOROLA in hand, we focused strictly on historical sites and a few current artistic venues this time, relying on Arcadia Publishing for the treasure trove of information on the early days of Phoenix and some surrounding areas. But for those of you more interested in the present, the app offers plenty of dining, shopping and fun things to do around town with the some of the other partners, including Zagat and Google Offers.
Discovering Phoenix from the 19th through 21st centuries
We headed out with a DROID RAZR HD to check on what ghosts of yesteryear were all around us, brought to our screen by the Field Trip app. The app peels back the layers of time to reveal the realities of the past. Some of the milestones we found: the first Schoolhouse with one teacher that taught every grade in 1873; the first fire-fighting apparatus in 1903; the Phoenix Railroad connecting to Tempe in 1910; their first Cotton Grading site in the 1920s; the Arizona Reptile Gardens in 1930; the United Producers and Consumers Cooperative for distributing water around town in the 1940s; the Phoenix Art Museum built in 1959 and expanded to its’ current size; and the Eye Lounge, a modern Artist Collective that showcases up and coming talent year round.
Just as was the case in Chicago, this app is all about the art of the wander. Streets you’ve walked down before, or never knew existed, become alive in new ways. A tone and vibration alerts you when crossing another marker. Stop, look, listen and above all enjoy your journey.
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