Tour the Met on Your Smartphone

In addition to the keypad feature (left), Audio Guide users can now access popular museum tours and current exhibitions (center) and specify language and location (right). Images courtesy of the author

«In a previous post, we introduced a beta release of the Audio Guide web app, giving users access to over sixty hours of Audio Guide content in ten languages. Since then, we've considered how to broaden the opportunity for users to engage with the Audio Guide further. Naturally, the next step was to add the ability to access tours and to do so in the user's preferred language.»

The first release of the Audio Guide web app functioned through the use of a keypad. With the latest release, users can access the Director's Tour, Sculpture Tour, and even Sarah Jessica Parker's Art of Dress tour directly from their smartphones. Overall, it's an important step in offering greater online access to our collection, as it works even when users are off-site. My hope is that it will encourage remote users to visit the Museum in person and on-site visitors to continue their experience even after they've left our physical space.

To access the tours, visit www.metmuseum.org/audioguide from a smartphone device and tap the tour icon in the upper right-hand corner. All of the tours and exhibition content, including content for kids, is accessible through this page. Additionally, the keypad function is still available for users to access content that's not part of a tour.

Another valuable feature in this release offers users the option to specify their language. Some Audio Guide content is translated into ten languages, and it was important to carry that respect for our international users to the online experience. Most of our translated content is contained within the tours, so adding them to the Audio Guide web app was a critical step in making the app accessible to a more diverse audience.

Select Audio Guide content is available in ten languages. The Temple of Dendur, a popular destination on the Director's Tour, is shown above in English and Mandarin.

Tapping on the settings bar engages the settings pop-up, which outlines user preferences. From here, users can select their preferred language. Once the language is set, navigational terms and directional copy within the Guide are translated accordingly. This language customization feature mirrors the on-site Audio Guide, and we expect it to be a highly valuable function for our international audience. Additionally, through this same settings bar, users can toggle between content specific to the Museum's Main Building and The Cloisters, depending on their location.

These feature updates are a few of our many efforts to provide greater access to our resources, collection, and exhibitions. While these steps have made the Audio Guide web app more accessible, we know there is always room for improvement, and we are continuing to look for ways to enhance the experience. Any feedback on stability and features, including any performance issues you may experience, is valuable and deeply appreciated. Email us at mobilefeedback@metmuseum.org to let us know what you think and what kind of device you're using. We read every message.