From CampusBird Blog
This month we will be highlighting Berry College, a comprehensive liberal-arts college in Rome, Georgia. The college student body is 2,073 undergrads, however, Berry College is the world’s largest contiguous college campus. Woah!
The campus covers over 27,000 acres of woodlands, meadows, and streams. Berry has 15 classroom facilities, 10 residence halls, both of which make up a portion of the 47 primary buildings on campus. The landscape, buildings, and landmarks are showcased through detailed, 3D renders.
What Makes the Berry College CampusBird Map Unique?
The Berry College map includes 11 different categories. Each category includes several subcategories that are geographically highlighted on the map with a picture and short description. And there are some fun ones! We'll talk about these: Historic, Cottage, and Tree Walk Tour categories.
Historic Category
Founded in 1902, Berry College has a rich history that is well documented on their CampusBird map. Beginning as a Boy’s Industrial School, the founder Martha Berry believed education was a way local children could escape poverty.
Berry’s campus map features nine different on-campus historic locations, including two museums. Each location includes several pictures and descriptions of the history behind the building or landmark. The map provides information on what the buildings are used for now and how/when you can visit them in person. For example, the description for the Oak Hill Museum includes a link to the Oak Hill Museum website.
If you took a good look at the image above, you're probably wondering....Possum Trot? No, not an annual 5k to raise money for possum awareness :) But a beautiful old wooden church also credited to Martha Berry; Possum Trot was the name of the Sunday School!
Cottage Category
There are nine different cottages highlighted on Berry's campus map. The two oldest cottages were built in 1913, and eight of the nine cottages are all located in the same “neighborhood” on campus. Just like the Historic category, you can view pictures and descriptions of the cottages, each built for a different purpose and with a rich history.
Today, all of the cottages are part of the Service Cottages Program, meaning each cottage has its own unique service project. The goal of this program is to help satisfy various needs within the Rome community. The inclusion of the cottages on the Berry campus map is not necessary, however, small details like this help to tell the story of Berry College and what it stands for, and can make a big impression on prospective students and their parents, and also make the map a fun way for current students to explore and learn more.
Tree Walk Virtual Tour
One of the unique features of the Berry College map is the Tree Walk Virtual Tour, using CampusBird's VitalPath tour system. The tour includes 40 different stops, all featuring different types of trees. Not only does this showcase the wide variety of vegetation within the campus, it also gives you a feel for the sheer size of the gorgeous campus property. It is a tour of history and science, yet small and fun details, such as the on-campus frisbee golf course, make this tour stand out.
Again, the inclusion of this is absolutely not required. However, it captures history and amenities that help Berry College stand out. This category is great for prospective students who want a feel for the vastness of the campus, while it also creates points of differentiation that students will remember throughout their college search. It is also a nice tool for current students and visitors who are curious about the history and science of the thousands of trees.
Berry College’s Best Practice: Polygon Tool
Being the largest contiguous campus in the world, the Berry College map covers a lot of space. With the polygon tool, Berry College map admin can select custom areas of their map in order to share more specific portions of the entire map. For example, if Berry College is hosting an event that takes place on a small segment of their campus (at say, Possum Trot) an admin can polygon that specific area to share with visitors.
The polygon tool is extremely user-friendly and helps people quickly locate where they need to go and how to get there. College campuses can be very confusing, especially large ones. The ability to partition and simplify a complex map is an extremely useful tool when an entire map and all of its categories are not necessary.
The Coolest Thing on the Berry College Campus Map: Student Housing
When applying for student housing, students often don’t know the options. Dormitories/halls vary tremendously in terms of location and amenities. Berry College makes housing selection super easy for their prospective students by giving them detailed info on dormitory locations, history, amenities, size, and what types of students generally reside there.
When you select the Student Housing category, all of the resident halls are pinpointed on the map. By simply clicking on a hall, a small slideshow will pop up with interior and exterior photos as well as a detailed description of that dorm. Living situations make a huge impact on a student’s college experience. By ensuring your prospective students have access to all of the hall/dorm information they need, the chances of them finding their perfect dorm are enhanced.
We're proud to have Berry College in the CampusBird family! Check out their map here.
Topics: Campus Map, College Campus Tours, Interactive Virtual Experiences
