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Pokémon Go: UW–Madison Edition

It’s been several weeks since a certain augmented-reality game has taken America by storm, and hunting Pokémon seems to still be all that any news outlet has been talking about. Yes, even this one.

It’s been several weeks since a certain augmented-reality game has taken America by storm, and hunting Pokémon seems to still be all that any news outlet has been talking about. Yes, even this one.

Pokémon Go is an app that puts the 1990s card and video game into the real world through your smartphone’s camera. Players walk around in order to find Pokémon, and they pause at Poké-stops — landmarks, historical sites, and other places of interest — to replenish their supply of Poké-balls.

No, the popularity of the app isn’t doing much to decrease the amount of time that people spend staring at their smartphones. But it does have one thing going for it: “We are bringing the world with us,” says Professor Kurt Squire of the School of Education. “It's changing how we learn and interact."

Many Poké-stops offer players the option to tap on the name and read more about the specific location. So, we wanted to know: What do the Pokémon Go creators have to say about UW–Madison’s landmarks? Here are 10 of the best Poké-stops on campus:

  1. Agriculture Hall, “Foraging Agrarian Democracy”
  2. Bascom Hill, Marian Anderson Historic Marker
  3. Sewell Social Sciences, Black Hawk Memorial
  4. Bird Effigy Mound
  5. Ingraham Hall, “Ancient Commerce Mosaic”
  6. Microbial Sciences, mass production of penicillin plaque
  7. Red Gym
  8. Science Hall
  9. Sesquicentennial Tree
  10. Bascom Hill, social security plaque
  11. Washburn Observatory
  12. Wisconsin State Historical Society
  13. Class of 1908 Sundial
  14. Wisconsin Alumni Association
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