Hackathon 2019

Group shot of participants from the Hands:On hackathon 2019

The Hackathon in 2019 was organised jointly by the Cambridge University Library and the QMUL School of History in July 2019. The 13 participants came from the University of Cambridge, Charles University and QMUL and spent a week together creating web app prototypes from design through to implementation, testing and presentation. The theme was ‘palimpsets’ from the Library’s collections, showing off some amazing items with undertext and overtexts from different periods, in different languages and on different topics! This year we offered all the digital images from a IIIF server for the teams to use in their prototypes.

Tweets from the week were collected with the hashtag #handson2019 and sent from our Twitter account @HandsOnDH.

Web Prototypes from the Teams

Links to online prototypes that the three teams made during the Hackathon.

‘Team Reagents’: Codex Zacynthius

Explore the science of multi-spectral imaging and the Codex Zacynthius with an exhibition app for a visiting tourist. Designed for a landscape iPad.

Team Quit’: The Creative Scriptorium

Create your own palimpsest with a friendly animal guide, designed for a 7-year-old to discover how palimpsests are made. Designed for a landscape iPad and touch input.

‘Team Kar$son Krew’: Aquila

Discover the secrets of the Aquila palimpset, designed for a history-loving exhibition visitor. Designed for portrait iPad so does not display well on desktop.