But at the same time, to successfully draw visitors they must also entertain...

http://www.roanoke.com/news/2398539-12/ ... -trip.html

Win....

Absolutely fantastic! This is certainly one way to answer the question of how to get younger folks first interested and then engaged and hopefully build the next generation to keep this alive.
Thanks, Gary....mld

BRAVO! This is exactly the kind of thing we as an industry need to be working on...well done!

As an educator I would love to see what lessons were developed.

At the risk of hijacking, do any museums use QR codes with exhibits? The code then takes you to a link of an "expert" explaining the exhibit and perhaps historical pictures or videos playing while the expert talks. The production is easy. Many HS kids can do that with an ipad.

Tom, VMT has been using QR codes in their newest exhibit signage that links to their website with more information about the exhibits. You can see an example here on the sign for Chesapeake Western 662:

I'm sorry, but the more I think about this idea, the less I like it.

Sure, have some additional info on your website for those that like to go in depth. Video and photos, if available, are wonderful additions.

But I don't like the QR code for details of the exhibit. Why not? Well, not everyone owns a smart phone. Not everyone knows what a QR code is, or how to use them. You may well be alienating part of your audience. Seniors, kids, the poor (or is it "economically disadvantaged" in these PC days?)

Want to see how to do something like this in a better way? Visit the sleeping car at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. They also use photos and videos, but they have kiosks set up, so when you push a button, the information plays on a monitor. Simple to use, accessible to all. I definitely prefer that approach!

My idea of the QR code was to supplement. Videos and sound do not always do well on the kiosk. You still need the fundamentals in signage. It just gets expensive to put video on each kiosk.

Not everyone owns a set of eyes or ears, either. But they are protected. There is no "Americans Without iPhones Act".

You reach your constituency any which way you can.

And when you start doing apps, do you hold off on the iphone version until the Android version is done too? Surface? Blackberry? Where do you say "enough" and tell people to buy a more popular platform?

Our resident 20-something IT expert at the Museum says QR codes are passe - the idea just didn't catch on. The rationale he and many of his friends share is why scan a code when they can use an app or a search feature? We also have the issue of poor cell reception inside our steel buildings, and do not presently offer wi-fi access.

At work I have added a QR code to some of our promotional literature but cannot track if our patrons are using the code.

Maybe someone at VTM can provide feedback about success with the QR codes on their exhibits?

Wesley

"Better," perhaps, but less practical. For many years one of the outstanding features of Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry was the large number of animated displays, of which at any given time perhaps half were actually working. Using QR codes or an app prevents reliance on distributed infrastructure and eliminates the need to construct and maintain a system of video monitors or computers.

IRM is developing an app which uses a keyed-in code rather than QR code, but the advantage is basically the same: the only "hardware" needed are little placards attached to existing signage. If you're going to have all of your animated displays or kiosks in a small area, then that helps with maintenance, but if displays are to be associated with equipment spread around a property then distributed animated displays could become a real headache to keep operating.

To add to Frank's point, much of the electronics needed for interactive displays is much happier in a climate controlled environment. That is a major reason that we at PTM are planning to use such displays only in a visitors center exhibit room, not in carbarns.