National Shell Museum Debuts Free Digital Guide

provided to The Santiva Chronicle

The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium now offers a digital guide and self-guided audio tours to enhance the visitor experience and accessibility through the Bloomberg Connects app.

Available in more than 50 languages, the Bloomberg Connects app is free to download. Using their cell phones, visitors can enjoy audio tours of the Museum’s Living Gallery of Aquariums and Great Hall of Shells exhibits, access an interactive Museum map, plan their visit, and learn about upcoming programs and experiences.

Accessibility features include voice-over, captions and audio transcripts, image zoom, and font size adjustment. These features will make tours easier for the visually impaired, the deaf/hard of hearing community, and those with sensory needs via transcripts for all audio content, alt text for photos, and the option to translate text.

The app can be used on-site with headphones or remotely from any place, at any time, to discover science, arts, and culture from over 1,500 participating museums, galleries, sculpture parks, gardens, and cultural spaces throughout the world, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and The National Gallery of Art, to name a few.

“Bloomberg Connects is an excellent platform that is easy to use, adds depth to the visitor experience, and increases accessibility,” said Museum Director of Education Jorden Falker. “The Museum is excited to join a large and growing group of museums around the world now offering this feature.”

Learn more at ShellMuseum.org/plan-your-visit.

About the Museum: The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum & Aquarium is a natural history museum and aquarium, and the only museum in the United States devoted primarily to shells and mollusks. Its mission is to educate and inspire an understanding of mollusks, their shells, and their habitats using exceptional experiences, collections, and science. Permanent exhibitions on view include the Great Hall of Shells, which displays highlights of the Museum’s collection of more than 600,000 shells, as well as the Living Gallery of Aquariums and over 60 species of marine life. For more information, please visit ShellMuseum.org or call (239) 395-2233.