A Whole New Audio Guide

I recently visited the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and it gave me a renewed hope in the audio guide. Instead of relying on the visitor to hit pause and play as they moved around the museum or punch in numbers, the audio guide plays the audio for whatever it’s in range of. The ranges of the exhibition modules are tightly controlled, and I never accidently picked up music of the Congo while watching native dances of Ghana. It was such a simple innovation that I assume relied something basic like an RFID, but it made the audio guide experience feel natural and seamlessly integrated into the experience.

I think it especially worked so well because exhibit modules looped primary source musical materials that synced with a video. Interpretationwas written on wall text.

So I’m wondering, has anyone seen this technology used with a traditional guided experience or interprative material?

Originally posted at http://hastac.org/blogs/sarahreusche/2012/01/31/whole-new-audio-guide

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