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Hi,
I would like to explore the options available for self guided audio tour for large group of students without using headphones. I want the group to listen together to an audio guide at different stations
Any suggestions how this can be accomplished with slim budget and how it will not interfere with the rest of the room
Thank you
Chavi Felsenburg
Curator
Amud Aish Memorial Museum
Sent from my iPad

Hi Chavi,

My name is Jeff Danziger and I'm with a company called Guide-ID Welcome To Guide-ID, The World's Easiest Audio Guide Device

Guide-id		remove preview
Welcome To Guide-ID, The World's Easiest Audio Guide Device Let your collection do the talking We believe in undivided attention for your collection and its stories. An audio-only tour makes sure the visitors' full attention is directed to the object itself. Let their imagination run free while listening to the tales of your exhibition. Tell them a damn good and unforgettable story! View this on Guide-id >

We provide audio guides to museums and historic sites around the world.  Our audio guides are typically deployed without headphones and we have many affordable solutions for you to consider.  I'd be happy to schedule a time to discuss your options in more depth so feel free to explore our website and you can give me a call at your convenience at 203-246-4829.  Thanks and I hope to connect with you soon!

With best regards,

Jeff

------------------------------
Jeff Danziger
Sales Director - North America
Guide-ID
[Norwalk] [CT][jeffdanziger@guide-id.com][203-246-4829][www.guide-id.com]
------------------------------

Hi Chavi,

I don't think there is any getting around the price of a guided tour service (Guide by cell or the like), but you could ask the tour guides to use their speaker phone for the whole group? You should note that anyone using a speaker phone will impact the experience of all the other people in the room. Not to mention if two people are using speaker phone in the same room. That's a downright unpleasant environment (for me at least).

I guess an alternative to a paid servcie would be an investment in some iPads or better yet iPods (smaller) that you loan out with a drivers liscense. You could cretae a playlist of audio files and have the visior click on the right track. I'd love to see what you come up with when you get to the other side, will you ping me with a share?

Cheers,
Matt

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Matthew Isble
Exhibit Designer & Founder of MuseumTrade.org
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
Crocker Art Museum
Sacramento CA
misble@crockerartmuseum.org
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Hi Chavi, 

I agree with what Matt has offered already in the thread. Having experience giving tours/programs using a speaker while other things are going on in the space can still be challenging and not disrupt the other visitors. During the pandemic shutdown, we converted all of our listening devices in the galleries & added additional self-paced audio tours using YourAudioTour.com. You can use the platform in the free version to test it out or if you're just using 1 tour, then that would be free as well. You can select stops provide additional links for continued learning, images, etc... We have found it to be very user-friendly for both backend and frontend users. If you want to check it out here is our general Kalamazoo highlights tour. https://www.youraudiotour.com/tours/1128/

Patrons/visitors can listen to the audio tour on their own device, controlling the volume and/or headphones if they like. We don't use it for a group, but it could be. This was another way of maintaining the safe handling of materials and limited sanitizing needed. We have yet to experience loud listening or other patrons complaining about loud listeners. So, I'd say it's going well for us. 

Good luck! Happy to answer additional questions.

------------------------------
Megan Osetek
Interpretation Manager
Kalamazoo Valley Museum
Kalamazoo MI
------------------------------

Hi Chavi,

Tried reaching you by phone without success.  Orpheo, a global company, with offices in NY, can supply you with a number of alternatives matching your needs and budgets.  We work with many NY museums and attractions, among them the Museum of Jewish Heritage.  I'm based in Queens so I'd be happy to come down and meet with you or we can have a virtual meeting.

Thanks.

Myron Baer
Managi8ng Director
Orpheo USA
212 464 8255
Myron.Baer@orpheo.us

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Myron Baer
Managing Director
Rego Park NY
------------------------------

Hello,
When you say "no headphones" are you referring to a rented device or to the visitor's own that uses with their smartphone? How permanent is your exhibition? How important is it that the group hears the same audio at the same time?

Here's my 2 cents worth on this thread.

• If no headphones whatsoever, consider an audio dome above each station. These allow only those who are standing under it to hear the recording while those who are in other parts of the gallery won't be bothered. I went to a children's museum that had this audio dome, however, it was a permanent exhibition. And it's costly, I imagine. And you don't need the solution to be costly.
• If it's ok for the group to use their smartphones with earphones, consider this (and it's close to $0 budget): Have QR codes at each station so visitors can scan. That will lead them to a soundcloud recording and they can hit "play" at the same time. Soundcloud is like a YouTube for audio. Anyone can create a free account and upload audio content (MP3 files, for example). Each content (sound file) has its own url, therefore, a free online QR code generator can be used to create a QR code for each sound file. These QR codes can be printed and sprayglued on a small square matboard or printed on a label sheet and placed on each station. This is super cheap to do, and fairly easy if you or your staff or volunteers or interns are tech savvy, but it will require quite some time to produce. By the way, voice can be recorded with a smartphone app inside a wardrobe closet thus avoiding ambient noise or hollow sound. 

I hope any of these tips can help you! I wish you much success in finding a solution.

------------------------------
Lisa Ortega-Pol, MFA
Museum Educator
Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte
Universidad de Puerto Rico
San Juan PR
------------------------------

Thank you for the great ideas! I am looking for a solution similar to mp3 audio devices. They are not expensive and not loud. Good for small groups. Anyone has experience with MP3 players at display stations?

Sent from my iPad


Original Message:
Sent: 2/16/2022 2:59:00 PM
From: Lisa Ortega-Pol
Subject: RE: Audio tour no headphones

Hello,
When you say "no headphones" are you referring to a rented device or to the visitor's own that uses with their smartphone? How permanent is your exhibition? How important is it that the group hears the same audio at the same time?

Here's my 2 cents worth on this thread.

• If no headphones whatsoever, consider an audio dome above each station. These allow only those who are standing under it to hear the recording while those who are in other parts of the gallery won't be bothered. I went to a children's museum that had this audio dome, however, it was a permanent exhibition. And it's costly, I imagine. And you don't need the solution to be costly.
• If it's ok for the group to use their smartphones with earphones, consider this (and it's close to $0 budget): Have QR codes at each station so visitors can scan. That will lead them to a soundcloud recording and they can hit "play" at the same time. Soundcloud is like a YouTube for audio. Anyone can create a free account and upload audio content (MP3 files, for example). Each content (sound file) has its own url, therefore, a free online QR code generator can be used to create a QR code for each sound file. These QR codes can be printed and sprayglued on a small square matboard or printed on a label sheet and placed on each station. This is super cheap to do, and fairly easy if you or your staff or volunteers or interns are tech savvy, but it will require quite some time to produce. By the way, voice can be recorded with a smartphone app inside a wardrobe closet thus avoiding ambient noise or hollow sound. 

I hope any of these tips can help you! I wish you much success in finding a solution.

------------------------------
Lisa Ortega-Pol, MFA
Museum Educator
Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte
Universidad de Puerto Rico
San Juan PR
------------------------------