The Museum of Modern Art, living up to the "modern" part of its name, is now allowing visitors who have certain cell phones, primarily iPhones or other mobile devices that can surf the internet, to use those devices as a way to access audio tours and information.
“When the museum first reopened in 2004, we put in Wi-Fi throughout the galleries thinking, well we're going to have some real need for it and we finally really do feel like there’s a great need for it,” said Allegra Burnette of the MoMA. “So, rather than doing a complicated logon, you just pick ‘MoMA free Wi-Fi’ and you go immediately to the audio tour and you can pick the individual work or by tour or by floor and it really gives you a seamless way to access the content within the galleries.”
Burnette said the new interactive tour offers a more graphic way to find information than the usual information available in a remote-type format.
“The wand in its current format is a text-based number pad that you just type in the number and call up the audio, whereas this is a more visual scrolling with different options, both with the number pad, but also being able look by pictures. Being able to say, 'Oh I'm in front of that work, let me find out more about it.’”
The Museum of Modern Art, living up to the "modern" part of its name, is now allowing visitors who have certain cell phones, primarily iPhones or other mobile devices that can surf the internet, to use those devices as a way to access audio tours and information.
Even if you don't have a device like an iPhone to take advantage of the new service, the museum is offering another high-tech method for finding your way around and even a high-tech way for virtually taking parts of the museum home with you.
Meet the MoMA.Guide computer kiosks.
“Really, it's about taking a pause either planning what you're going to go see, getting a sense of what's where or pausing at the café, having a cup of coffee and taking a look at what you want to go see next. We’ve got way finding information, information about the works of art, both on view and not on view, and the ability to send e-cards which is really popular.”
Once home, if you still haven't had your fill, MoMA has its own spot on iTunes for downloading museum pod casts and presentations.
MoMA isn't the first museum to offer all this functionality, but is among the first to offer it all on your devices.
Going forward, the staff says as more phones become capable of doing more, it hopes to add even more information and interactivity to the virtual guides.