In this day and age, it seems as if there is an app for everything out there- and museums are no exception. Gone are the days when an in-person, guided tour was the only thing a museum could offer. Thanks to modern-day technology, museums have found a great way to work with apps to engage with their customers and keep up with the latest trends.
Museum apps are built with the customer in mind and serve to broaden their audience’s knowledge by providing facts, figures, and a more in-depth history of what’s on display. Most apps also offer virtual tours, which save the hassle of having to wait until the next available tour time, and some are even using augmented reality to present their collections in a more engaging way.
There’s no doubt about it, apps are a great way to increase interest and expand on a museum’s audience. Smartphone culture doesn’t seem as if it will be going away any time soon, and museums are now beginning to embrace modern technology in their museum marketing. The internet is full of helpful information like this museum app building guide, which in turn is encouraging more and more museums to step into the world of technology. Here are just a handful of museums who have created their own apps:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art – Your Personal Tour Guide
Virtual tour guides have been around for quite a while, but the SFMOMA have created a virtual tour guide app which takes things a step further. We’d usually imagine a guided tour to be educational- and more on the formal side, but SFMOMA’s app uses the voices of actors, musicians, curators, dancers, radio and TV presenters to provide an exciting, casual and conversational way of exploring their museum.
Brooklyn Museum – Ask the Experts
When taking a tour around a museum, it’s only natural for the customer to have some questions along the way. Virtual guides are great, but the one downside is that you aren’t able to ask your phone a specific question in the same way that you would be able to ask a human tour guide. Google is always an option, but depending on just how specific and in-depth your question is, you might not get the answers you’re looking for.
Brooklyn Museum aims to solve this problem by putting out an app which allows you to ask your question to a team of art historians and educators. Most questions will be responded to immediately, so you won’t have to turn to Google and its somewhat questionable accuracy.
Museum of London – Augmented Reality
Some museums have taken an innovative approach by creating apps that combine a smartphone’s precise location with sophisticated overlay technologies which add a third dimension to displays. AR can be used to display additional information or add a digital version of the artist next to their work. In the Museum of London’s case, the app was used to overlay their collection onto the cityscape, giving an impressive contrast between the past and the present.
