Audio tour

When invented in 1952, the developers were drawn by its unique potential to mediate an experience individually controllable by each visitor, which was content-rich, was personal to them, was available at any time, and suited learning styles not served by catalog, text panel, or label.

Identical lectures in Dutch, French, English, and German were recorded onto magnetic tapes, broadcast in turn through the aerial, and picked up by visitors through a portable radio receiver with headphones, when inside the loop.

Audio tours may include music, sound effects, and character voices to create a more entertaining experience.

A multimedia electronic guide is a device specially designed to provide audio, visual or textual content to museum visitors with or without user interaction.

Once a visitor has dialed in, they will be prompted and can enter the corresponding stop number of the exhibit they’re viewing, to hear the recorded content.

In addition to audio content, some providers are also able to stream video, and text message recent visitors with updates.

[citation needed] Smartphones have significant advantages over cell phones, as they have story-triggering technologies (GPS, bluetooth, NFC, QR-code scanner) and can use the power of mobile apps to deliver the right story in the right language in the right place and in the right context (e.g. the evening tour, or a winter tour).