Making Connections: Using Mobile Phones as a Museum Tool

Abstract

Mobile phones have been steadily gaining appreciation among the museum community as a versatile tool. The new generation of mobile phones allows museums to imagine a whole new range of applications, including audiovisual personal tours and live-feed broadcasting. Personal tours using mobile phones are appealing to museum educators since patrons can use their own familiar equipment, thus eliminating the uncertainty and frustration of learning how to operate a new portable device. This, in turn, allows museums to focus on content quality rather than hardware maintenance. Mobile phones can also be used to deliver a lecture via live broadcast. Live broadcasting can connect galleries, schools, and even fossil sites globally with just a phone call; an exciting prospect for those involved in planning educational programs at museums. It can also promote collaborations among cultural and educational facilities.