N. Trent Chamberlain 2025 Spring Internship

Hello Readers! This week at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC) has been a busy one, even beyond our usual 3D digitization work. While we continued our efforts to scan more fascinating artifacts, a significant part of my time was dedicated to creating descriptive write-ups for some of the museum's unique pieces. I had the opportunity to research and write about two particularly interesting items. One was the Dr. Lyon's Tooth Powder, which represents an important stage in the evolution of oral hygiene products, predating the widespread use of the softer, paste-like formulations we recognize today. This product was manufactured by the R.L. Watkins Company, a firm founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1866 by Dr. J.W. Lyon. While modern consumers are accustomed to toothpaste dispensed from tubes, Dr. Lyon's product was a powder. The shift from powder to paste began to gain traction around 1892, when a dentist in Connecticut adopted the painter's collapsible tube for denta...

 Hello, readers! Welcome to my Week 10 update on my summer internship at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC). This week was a bit shorter for me as I had to leave early to register for the SURF showcase. Despite the abbreviated schedule, I continued to assist with the 3D scanning of various objects in the collection. One of the most notable items we scanned was a helmet worn by the Fedayeen Saddam. The Fedayeen Saddam was a paramilitary organization loyal to Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq. Established in 1995 by Saddam's eldest son, Uday Hussein, the group was tasked with various roles, including suppressing dissent, enforcing internal security, and acting as a propaganda tool. They were known for their distinctive black uniforms and reliance on unconventional tactics during conflicts, particularly in the lead-up to and during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The organization gained a reputation for brutality and fanaticism, playing a significant, albeit often controvers...

 Hello, readers! Welcome back for my week nine update on my summer internship at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC). This week, Eric and I had the exciting opportunity to work with some advanced 3D scanning technology. We used high tech scanners from UCF called the Artec Spider. These scanners are a significant investment, costing around $24,000, so we were keen to see how their capabilities compared to the other methods we've been using. A major advantage of the Artec Spider is its ability to create very detailed high quality scans on the fly. While we performed the initial scans in real-time this week, in the future, we plan to scan the objects and then create the full, high-quality models on a more powerful computer back home. This method provided excellent results in terms of quality. However, considering the cost and complexity, we will likely focus on training the museum staff on how to use the KIRI mobile app. KIRI is a free and user-friendly application, making it ...

 Hello, readers! Welcome back to my summer internship blog at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC). It’s hard to believe we’re already in week seven! The summer semester is moving along quickly.  This week, Eric and I continued our 3D digitization efforts, focusing on some fascinating smaller artifacts from the collection. We spent time scanning a painted helmet and a vintage can of Dr. Lyons toothpaste. I can’t wait to see what our own Dr. Lyons thinks of that! We also scanned a modern Kevlar helmet and a few other artifacts.  Perhaps the most unexpected turn of the week came from a bit of historical detective work. While working with the collection, I noticed a set of ration tins labeled as being from World War I. However, I had a hunch that based on their design they were from much later in the century. After a closer look and some research, we were able to confirm they were actually from the Cold War era. With the staff's permission, we carefully opened the tin...

 Hello, readers! Welcome back for my week six update on my summer internship at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC). This week was a little different, as I had a brief training session on 3D scanning with Dr. Giroux at the University of Central Florida. Unfortunately, our time was cut short due to some technical difficulties with the equipment. I also spent some time this week creating a write-up to accompany the 3D models of the trench art we scanned last week. You can read that description below. "The practice of creating trench art is as old as military conflict itself, but it was World War I that truly defined it, giving the pastime its name and, through technological change, its most classic material, the brass cartridge. Later, the mechanized nature of World War II provided soldiers with greater access to the tools and materials needed to produce these items in greater variety and quantity. Servicemembers transformed materials like spent artillery shells, bullets, an...

Hello, readers! Welcome back for the week five update of my summer internship at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center (BVMC). After a quick detour last week at CHDR( Center for Humanities and Digital Research), I was excited to get back to the museum and apply some of the new techniques I learned. This week, Eric and I dove headfirst into the 3D modeling of some of the artifacts housed within the museum. We started with  trench art from World War I and World War II. For those unfamiliar with it, trench art refers to decorative items made by soldiers, prisoners of war, or civilians from various military weapons, in this case used artillery shells. E Our process began with meticulously photographing these intricate objects. Eric then used a specialized software called Agisoft Metashape to stitch the high-resolution images together, creating highly detailed and accurate 3D models. It is a tedious process of taking pictures on a rotating turntable every few seconds, but we hope that th...