Skip to main content

BYOD: We promise we won’t tell you to put it away

Crystal Bridges knows that the majority of our guests come to the Museum with some kind of mobile device, and we are working hard to offer experiences to those that would like to use their own devices at the Museum.

Although cell service has always been tricky in the building—remember while you are at the museum, you are in a ravine with three-foot-thick concrete walls—we continue to work with the major cell carriers to strengthen our signals, and have achieved some great improvements. However, depending on the carrier, some guests may still experience low signal strength. We would like to remind you that since opening, we have offered a free Wi-Fi network for our guests called “CBMAA Guest,” and there’s no password needed to join.

Six things to consider when using your mobile device:
1. The new mobile version of our website can help you find directions to the Museum and plan your visit. There are even menus to help you decide what you want at Eleven for lunch or dinner.

2. You can download recordings of some of the art talks or lectures that you may have missed and listen to them in front of the artworks they reference. These recordings are available in iTunes U for free. Apple users can get them through the iTunes U app, while other users can get them through the iTunes software, download them on to their computer, and then install them on your mobile device. You can search for “Crystal Bridges” or use this direct link.

3. When you arrive at the Museum, you may want to consider turning off your cellular data to help save battery life. Otherwise devices are prone to continually try to connect, which depletes your battery.

4. Use instant messaging apps to communicate with others in your group while at the Museum.

5. Feel free to use your mobile device to take pictures without a flash (as long as there is no sign indicating that photos are not allowed in that area). If you share those through social media, considering tagging the museum #CrystalBridges. Crystal Bridges employees love to see what our guests are enjoying about the Museum.

6. And don’t forget to download our free mobile app CBMuseum, which offers audio tours as well as a calendar of events. The app is now available on Android as well as Apple devices.

Also published on Crystal Bridges Museum Blog.
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Projects

My current projects are many and varied. For the museum I'm currently cataloging and organizing a very large manuscript collection of papers from the International Order of Odd Fellows. I'm also trying to catch-up on editing some podcast episodes and planning an exhibit that will open in 2010. I'm in the process of writing an article for the Historic House Museum Affinity Group newsletter and I'm putting together a workshop on social media for the Arkansas Museum Association. On the personal front I'm currently working on creating a portfolio.
Read more

Things that Endanger Your Treasures

  When people find out my degree is in Museum Studies and I work at a museum, I’m constantly being asked questions like: “What things do I need to look out for in order to protect my keepsakes?”  “What’s the worst thing that could happen to my great-grandmother’s wedding dress?” “So my photos are just thrown into a cardboard box, that’s probably not the best thing, right” “I could never afford to properly store my grandfather’s Bible, could I?” The majority of my answers revolve around four things that can endanger your treasures so, I’ve created a little guide on those things and solutions you can start implementing today to help mitigate them. I’ve made it in a worksheet form to really help you think through changes you might need to make. But I also wanted to share a fifth thing for you to be aware of just in this blog post and that’s how materials can interact with each other. The more complex an object is as far as the materials that it is made up of the more complex it c...
Read more

It’s Ok to Use It

  I’m often asked, “But what should I DO with my family heirloom?”  My response is always, “What do you want to do with it?” At this point people are often taken aback. I think they assume I’m going to tell them to lock it away in storage and never use it again for fear of breaking or damaging it. In some cases, that may be what might be best for the object. You have to consider the condition its in and what your goals are for it. If it is a book in poor condition, but you are hoping your great-grandchildren will get to see it. Then, yes, probably the best thing to do is stabilize it and store it, taking it out occasionally to check on the condition, but to try to manipulate it as little as possible.  Other objects don’t necessarily need to be treated so delicately. For instance, something I chose that belonged to my maternal grandmother was soup bowls. There were only two of them and they aren’t valuable. They're Anchor Hocking from the 1970s. They were her everyday dish...
Read more