Running the Digital Race: Premiere Chicago Museum uses VAMONDE as its primary placemaking and wayfinding tool
The Chicago History Museum is the oldest cultural institution in the city and is well-ranked among seekers of Chicago culture. Boasting over 250,000 visitors, this museum provides a glimpse into key moments in Chicago history and the impact of significant people and movements on the city. Current exhibits feature Chicago’s role in the creation of modern design, the development of blues music, and the influence of Martin Luther King Jr. and his time in Chicago.
The museum’s mission is to share Chicago’s stories and serve as a hub of scholarship, learning, inspiration and civic engagement. The mission doesn’t end outside the museum’s four walls. Digital Content Manager, Julius Jones, works to make Chicago History Museum a Digital First Institution through various technology platforms. How can the museum use digital technology to further its mission and share Chicago’s stories to a broader audience?”
The History Museum chose Google Arts and Culture and VAMONDE as their primary technology options. They use Google Arts and Culture to support the digital interpretation of their collection by uploading their current collection and having it featured on this platform. The benefits of using this platform are the availability of their current audience and the ease of access from the Google search engine. However, what they are missing here is the lack of mobile experience and an easy way to add their content.
The VP of Education and Interpretation for the History Museum mentioned VAMONDE to Julius as a solution to fill their need for a mobile experience that showcases their exhibits and collections. Julius recognized that VAMONDE could serve not only as the mobile offering they were looking for but also as a way to create placemaking experiences for the museum that went above and beyond what the museum currently offered.
Using VAMONDE led the museum to expand its doors and provide visitors with the chance to explore history where it happened
The museum had recently unveiled an exhibit on Martin Luther King Jr., focusing on his life and impact on United States history. Due to a wealth of material and limited space, they were unable to include information on how MLK Jr. influenced and was affected by the city of Chicago. They especially wanted to highlight the places around Chicago where MLK Jr. had visited and spoken to crowds. To share both content and wayfinding, the Chicago History Museum turned to VAMONDE to create content specific to MLK Jr. in Chicago.
With VAMONDE, the History Museum was able to expand the scope of their exhibit and allow visitors to learn about MLK Jr. and then take a journey to the places in Chicago that were influential to his life. Once this content was complete, the History Museum shared this information widely with museum visitors and audiences across the city.
VAMONDE becomes the go-to experiential content and placemaking technology for the History Museum
After creating and sharing content on Martin Luther King Jr., the History Museum used VAMONDE’s visitor and engagement analytics to see how well their time was spent. With 500 views per week, the museum was able to reach a wider audience outside of its traditional demographic. They continue to use user behavior analytics to see which content pieces are most interesting to those viewing their mobile experiences.
The Chicago History Museum continues to focus on its vision of being a digital first and focused institution. They use VAMONDE as a valuable asset to support their digital work, especially when it comes to experiential placemaking and digital storytelling. It will continue to be a tool that both complements their physical exhibits and provides users the chance to interact with digital exhibits throughout the city.
Learn more about the tools that the Chicago History Museum uses in their digital-first approach. Visit info.vamonde.com/museums or contact kartik@vamonde.com to see if VAMONDE can work for your museum.
