http://exhibitdev.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/mobile-tours/
This blog article asks if we should think more about how people use phones in terms of developing mobile/PDA apps as opposed to always opting for tours.
What’s happening
NT My Farm project
Following the inspiring brand day this week that myself and Tom attended, I am interested to see what the NT/other places have been doing in terms of going “social”. NT have a few things on the go including an interactive farming project – cleverly building on the popularity of facebook games like Farmville. Be interested to see if you have found any other good examples. Clearly something like this crosses departments, but there is a lot of learning potential. One of the many things that came out of the day is that at the moment NTS is only tapping the surface of the potential for engaging people through social media.
http://www.my-farm.org.uk/ You can watch the live birth of a foal and help decide what to grow in the fields.
talking benches
This seems to have sparked some debate.
http://www.ahi.org.uk/www/news/view_detail/80/
Innovative Historic House Interpretation
Came across this blog article – mentions some I’d already heard of like Kew Palace and some I wasn’t aware of like the new interpretation at Blenheim Palace. I wonder if anyone else has been to/ experienced any of the examples covered or seen anything that particularly impressed? You can probably tell I am trying to get a bit of inspiration for some of the forthcoming Interpretive Plans I am working on!
http://www.museum-network.com/forum/topics/innovations-in-historic-house?x=1&id=4008275%3ATopic%3A6067&page=1#comments
Threave Batmobile
Here are some photos of the mobile trailer or “batmobile” I completed work on last year for Threave Bat Reserve. We have already had a reprint of the accompanying trails leaflet and retail are currently developing options for a range of products to fit with the brand.
Culzean ipod tour goes live
This season at Culzean sees some groundbreaking new interpretation. Visitors can now choose to take a multimedia tour which tells the stories of the Trusts’s flagship property, and brings its rooms to life.
Are Historic House tours boring?
This blog article makes for quite an interesting read. I think it does a good job of highlighting some of the challenges we face making our big castles and houses engaging for visitors. I think the point about having the research there to support the more human stories behind a site is a particularly important one for us.
http://uncatalogedmuseum.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-makes-historic-house-tours-so.html
Grey Mare’s trailer now on site
The new exhibition trailer for Grey Mare’s Tail arrived on-site at the start of April. The trailer was designed by Weesleekit Ltd and produced by Glasgow based company, Elevation and is the culmination of over a year of planning by Trust staff.
Jo’s York Castle Museum Visit
As well as visiting Fountain’s Abbey, I took some time to go round York Castle Museum last Friday (12th Feb). http://www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk/Page/Index.aspx
Fountains Abbey- Culzean’s Unlikely Twin
Last week I visited Fountains Abbey with Paul Pomfret from Culzean to help inform the re-interpretation project. Fountains Abbey is one of NTS’s most visited sites and like Culzean has diverse site elements. Paul had heard that they had based their visitor centre on Culzean’s so we were interested to see how a visitor attraction with a similar building, but without the historic building restrictions of Culzean functions. We met with Customer Development Manager, Kath Knight and Education Manager Tessa Goldsmith.
