The public history site that I chose to explore was Clio. Their mission is to “connect people to information about the history, art, science, and culture that surround us with educational walking tours, nature trails, virtual museum tours, and thousands of geo-located articles about landmarks.” They also believe that historical research and interpretation benefit from people’s collaboration.1 Unfortunately, due to the weather this week, I could not use it while walking around my local area. However, I found out that it is not necessarily a requirement. When I loaded the app, it used the GPS on my phone to find historical places near me. I found a museum within walking distance from my house: The Cold War Museum. I selected it to learn more information and was pleasantly surprised. I thought it would only include basic information about the museum, which it does, but there is more that the app provides. It gives a map showing the place’s regular and street view. It also offers some historical information about the museum itself. One aspect that I felt was particularly important was the museum’s address, hours, and phone number. If someone uses the app and wants to visit the museum after reading up on it, they would not have to leave and find the museum’s website or look it up. The provision of this information makes it convenient for users.
Showing local historical places is only one of the services the app provides. The app also provides users a way to create their own tour. Users can create three different types of tours: Walking, Driving or Biking, and Thematic or Heritage Trail. I decided to look at one, and I provided the location information. It then brings up places within or near that area, which users can pick and create a tour. There is also an AR component that uses people’s cameras on their phones to find information in the area around them.
Similarly, a geo-fencing tool uses GPS instead of an area to alert users when they are near a historical location or place. Overall, this is an excellent app for finding and learning about historical places in local areas. I cannot wait to be able to use this whenever I’m in a new location.
“FAQs,” Clio, accessed April 6, 2024, https://www.theclio.com/faqs. ↩︎