September 7, 2012
For alumni wanting to stroll down memory lane or prospective students seeking a peek at the campus, the grounds of Amherst College are now just a click away, courtesy of Google.
This week the Internet search and advertising giant launched its Street View panorama of the Amherst College campus, as part of an ongoing project extending the Google Street View to include college campuses throughout the globe. Google Street View allows users to explore the world at street level in Google Maps and Google Earth, via panoramic shots gathered by camera-mounted cars.
Photo by Sam Masinter ’04
In recent years, Google has been expanding its Street View library to include locations inaccessible by car, using small vehicles. Last summer, a Google team huffed and puffed its way around campus, pedaling a heavy-duty trike mounted with the panoramic camera equipment. Amherst College is one of 150 campuses from around the world that Google has mapped.
To take an Internet stroll of the campus, simply navigate to Google Maps and search for “Amherst College.” From there, you can either zoom in to the lowest level or drag the orange "pegman" icon on the left hand side of the screen onto an area of campus that becomes outlined in blue.
View photos of the Google tricycle mapping Amherst at the college's Flickr set.