An interactive app developed by Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology wants to know what your favorite festival activity or banner is at this year’s Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.
Tiffany Knearem is a Ph.D. candidate who oversaw the development of this year’s app, which the college creates a new version of every year. Her research identified three types of people who attend Arts Fest and created prompts that users can respond to by uploading pictures to the app.
“Your favorite festival food, that’s keying in on those people who are here for the experiences; your favorite banner, that’s keying in on art," Knearem said. "And then there’s other ones for more nostalgic reasons, such as a place where you might want to take graduation photos or a place that reminds you of a Penn State victory.”
Knearem says another purpose of the app is to improve town-gown relations between Penn State students and State College residents.
“It’s trying to draw the students out of the university and into the town, and one way they can do this is go around and do these missions, which require them to engage in the town," Knearem said.
Those who play the game through the GooseChase app and complete all nine prompts are entered to win prizes ranging from Arts Fest t-shirts to gift cards good at next year’s festival.
