Glasgow Museums have embraced the mobile technology sector to produce an audio guided tour App for the iPhone for Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, which launched on Tuesday 26th June. The new App has gone on sale on iTunes, to be shortly followed by an Android version.
The new Guide Me Tours App contains a two-hour audio visual guided tour of the Kelvingrove collection, including all the must-see highlights, and also contains a short lunch-time tour and an introduction to the currently running Italian Exhibition.
Guests were treated to real and virtual tours of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow at the launch of the App on Tuesday evening. Passionate and entertaining volunteer guides from Kelvingrove offered groups of guests tours of selected rooms and areas of the museum whilst at the same time the group could check out virtual versions of the tours on iPads and iPhones – an exciting new way to discover or rediscover the museum.
Volunteer guide Joanne brought the museum artefacts, from ancient armour to the history of the building and the Glasgow Boys paintings to life with fabulous stories, anecdotes and memorable details; which not only inspired but got everyone talking – much like the new smartphone App version. For those who had visited the museum before or already knew it well, using the App offered an innovative new way to discover the treasures of Kelvingrove.
The new App opens the museum’s virtual doors, for new visitors at the planning stage, enhancing the visitor experience whilst touring Kelvingrove in person, as a special reminder of a visit, and perhaps also offers a unique way of sharing the visitor experience with others. Priced at £3.99, it is hoped that the App will generate income for the Museums service and because of the worldwide reach of the Apple store, it will be available to a global audience. Users can also download a free “try before you buy” version from i-Tunes.
The company behind the App, Guide Me Tours, is an arts and business success story which has been able to offer the apps free of charge to the venue and allow them access to this new technology. Two private companies came together to create Guide Me Tours (www.intermezzo-arts.co.uk and www.versko.com) with the philanthropic aim of helping to generate an income for museums, art galleries and heritage properties, particularly in this challenging economic climate. This proved a challenging task and required the input of a technology company, historians, art historians and tour guides, all of whom had an interest in arts and culture and were willing to risk investment to support the venture.
Guide Me Tours would be happy to talk to other museums, art galleries and historic properties who are also interested in generating income through technology.
For more information contact Clare McLeod at www.guidemetour.co.uk
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