Miami Dade College’s MAGIC department creates a mobile game to discover nature and history on The Underline

Miami, Fla., February 4, 2021 – Friends of The Underline (FUL), a 501C3 non-profit organization advocating to transform the underutilized land below Miami’s Metrorail into a 10-mile linear park, urban trail and public art destination and Miami Dade College’s Miami Animation and Gaming International Complex (MAGIC) today announced that with the opening of The Underline’s Phase 1, visitors can use their smartphone to play Dig & Learn, a virtual scavenger hunt on The Underline. 

One of the core values of The Underline is innovation.   MAGIC has been a key partner in support of this mission with the development of The Underline’s tech amenities. Now, MAGIC students have developed a mobile game, Dig & Learn, The Underline park’s latest tool to help bridge high-end technology with the great outdoors. The game joins MAGIC’s roster of Underline creations: an augmented reality (AR) simulation (link) allowing smartphone users to unlock information on park features including flowers and wildlife, and a 3D tour of the completed park. 

“Dig & Learn is the newest partnership with MAGIC.  This virtual scavenger hunt uses augmented reality so visitors, both in the park and online, can uncover key educational artifacts that celebrate the history of The Underline and its surrounding neighborhoods,” said Breanna Faye, chief technology officer for Friends of The Underline. 

The app, available for Android and iOS, allows visitors to learn about cultural and historical figures, native flora and fauna, cultural artifacts, and buildings and neighborhoods representative of Miami’s vibrant and diverse history and residents. According to MAGIC Chair 

Mauricio Ferrazza, “With Dig & Learn users can dig for objects related to Miami co-founder Mary Brickell, the Native American tribes of Florida and fossils, among others, during gameplay.”

Segundo Correas, an international student from Argentina and 2020 MAGIC graduate, was part of the team that developed the game. “This project was a big step forward for me and a great addition to my portfolio as I worked on the user interface, helping create many of the screens, pages and visual elements,” he said.

The game will expand in scope and features as the park grows in two more phases from Brickell, just south of Downtown Miami, to the Dadeland area in southeast Miami-Dade County.

About The Underline

The Underline is a planned 10-mile urban trail, linear neighborhood park and public art destination that will span from the Miami River, north of Brickell Metrorail station, to Dadeland South. The Underline project will feature dedicated bike and pedestrian paths, amenities, art, programming, lighting, native vegetation as well as safety features and improvements at road crossings. The Underline will be built in phases, the first of which will begin in the Brickell area. For more information, visit www.theunderline.org and/or follow them on social on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @theunderlinemia.

Friends of The Underline 

Friends of The Underline is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization delivering and activating a 120-acre, world-class linear park spanning 10-miles below Miami’s Metrorail that will transform regional mobility and celebrate diversity, culture and lifelong learning.  Through innovative urban trails and creative programming, we are connecting people to their environment and each other to create a safe, healthy, equitable, and sustainable community.