The Museum of Human Evolution app is one year old, with over 3,000 downloads, new content and continuing updates

The Museum of Human Evolution’s focus on new technologies increases the interest of visitors. The Museum has established itself as one of the preferred options to delve into its exhibition contents

MEH

The Museum of Human Evolution’s focus on new technologies increases the interest of visitors. The Museum has established itself as one of the preferred options to delve into the Museum’s exhibition contents. One example is the application for mobile devices, which has recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with over 3,000 downloads, new content and continuously updated information. The data recorded since its launch show the visitors’ interest in discovering the MEH through the new application, since the number of downloads grows every month, especially in periods with major tourist inflow.

 

The application is completely free and is available for iOS and Android devices in Spanish and English at the App Store and Google Play. Of the three tours outlined in the app (The Museum of Human Evolution, the site and the Centre for Experimental Archaeology), the Museum tour is downloaded more often than the tours dedicated to the site of the Sierra de Atapuerca and Atapuerca’s Centre for Experimental Archaeology (CAREX). All tours are tailored to the needs of people with visual or hearing impairments through audio description, subtitling and videos in Spanish Sign Language. In this sense, annual data shows that 3% used subtitling and 1% used Sign Language.

 

In the annual count, most of the Museum’s visitors downloaded the application for Android devices, with 2,143 downloads, compared to the 924 downloads for iOS.

 

The section dedicated to the Museum of Human Evolution proposes a guided tour and covers the need of touring the Museum independently. It is also the most complete showcase to schedule visits in person and attend activities.

 

The second tour, dedicated to the Atapuerca site, provides useful information on both sites open to the public and on those that are closed. Co-directors such as Eudald Carbonell and José María Bermúdez de Castro narrate the details of the excavations and the peculiarities of specific processes such as the washing of sediments or the study of the findings at the laboratory.

 

The third and final tour brings children and adults closer to the Centre for Experimental Archaeology (CAREX). The application also includes information on how to get there, how to make a reservation for the visit and a map that summarises the activities that can be done with the centre's instructors.

 

The app is the result of the agreement with Orange Foundation and GVAM, within the Áppside project, an initiative that collaborates with leading museums as a cultural catalyst, committed to offering content for the general public and adapted to people with sensory disabilities.