There are tons of ways to use mobile apps or tablets or other
technologies in museums these days. What are these different ways? What are
their pros, cons, and unknowns? Which one is right for you?
Those are the questions this blog will answer.
First, what can the mobile app do?
1.
Mobile apps can act as simply mobile versions of your
website -- introductory information about your space, directions, contact info,
events/calendar, and social media links.
2.
Mobile apps can be tour guides of your space. They would
replace handheld audio-wands completely (and be cheaper and easier to
maintain). They could also supplement docents (if you have staffing/volunteer
constraints) -- and although nothing can be as good as a real person, the app
can provide different benefits, such as flexibility in what the visitor wants
to listen to, a consistent story for each visitor, etc.
3.
Mobile apps can be a game for your site -- children or
adults can play a scavenger hunt, trivia game, or other type of game that gets
them involved in your site.
4.
Navigation help - Mobile apps have a full map of the
area and a guided tour with stop numbers in them to properly direct the
traffic. It helps in controlling crowd and it also ensures that no one misses
important stops.
5.
Multiple languages - Mobile apps are offered in several
languages to help foreign tourists to listen to the story in their own
language.
Second, how do visitors access this app?
1.
Visitors can either download a mobile app onto their
own phones/tablets
2.
You can offer a phone/tablet to visitors in order for
them to view a mobile app
3.
Both! You can offer a downloadable app to visitors who
want to use their own devices or offer devices to those who don’t want to
What kinds of tours can I give on an app?
1.
Museum or historic house tour
2.
Interactive science center, aquarium, or zoo tour
3.
Walking tour of town or city
4.
Biking tour of town or city
5.
Self-driving tour of town or city
6.
Trolley, bus, or hop on/hop off tour of town or city
7.
Boat, river, cruise, or duck tour
8.
Garden, park, or hiking trail tour
How does mapping / GPS work?
* Note that this does
not require wifi, cell signal, or data to work!
1.
Static tour -- visitors can view just a static
floor-map. This is a good fit inside a building.
2.
iBeacon tour -- app recognizes when visitor approaches
an object and performs a predefined action. This is a good fit inside a
building.
3.
GPS tour -- app tracks visitor as they move and
performs an action when the visitor approaches certain areas. This is a good
fit when distances are far apart.
Author: Ushma Shah is a founder of Action Data Systems,
developer of Action tour apps on smartphones. Action
Data Systems is headquartered in Barrington, Rhode Island with a regional
office in Mumbai India. Action Data Systems helps museums, attractions and
bus tour operators to create Apple and Android tour guide apps to increase
tourist engagement, improve ratings & reviews and generate new revenue from
mobile e-commerce. For more information, please visit http://www.actionshowapp.com
