Clio For Museums
Our team has created a step-by-step guide for creating a virtual tour of a museum or site. We also have a short demo video that walks users through each step.
Here is an example of a walking tour for a museum complex. Using either a walking tour or simply opening geofencing (location-aware) feature in Clio, the public can walk, listen, and learn about each landmark in a museum complex, park, cemetery, or neighborhood. Here is a walking tour for a downtown that includes museums and other landmarks.
You can also create immersive 360-degree virtual tours of museums and sites that offer an interactive floor-by-floor map along with clickable hotspots that can include text, images, links, and video. Here is an example of how the Truman Presidential Library and Museum used this feature: https://theclio.com/entry/32094
Images and samples of print and digital media related to Clio
Drive Visitation and Engagement
Thousands of people use Clio each day to discover nearby historical and cultural sites. Others browse the website or app to discover places they might like to visit. Start by making sure that the landmarks in your community have detailed and compelling entries that connect people to related sources and credible websites. Clio is a reference site, so all text must be original and compelling. Want to offer something more personal? All entries can also include up to two audio files that incorporate local narrators and oral history clips. Next, be sure to build a virtual tour of your museums and walking/driving tours for your community. Clio entries and tours offer a wealth of information that can guide residents and visitors throughout your community, and you can add audio narration throughout these tours.
Clio users naturally click on the links to related sources and websites, and they also discover your organization by clicking on the author profile. With millions of page views each month, we hope this free and accessible resource will help you connect people to information and demonstrate the value of your organization.
Digital Interpretive Space
Clio virtual tours of museums and sites can include information about exhibits and artifacts, with informative text and audio narration from museum staff. Walking and driving tours offer a curated itinerary filled with facts, context, and links to related books, articles, websites, and digital media. The virtual tours can prepare visitors before their arrival. They can also enhance their in-person experience by replicating many of the features of digital touchscreens and headsets in a post-COVID world by taking advantage of personal mobile devices.
Your organization can also create walking, driving, or hiking tours that work from any location. These tours and trails can also be downloaded to a device or as a PDF. Users have numerous options for how they can experience the tours and trails, from an augmented reality arrow that points them along the way to a real-time birds-eye map showing their current location relative to each stop on the tour.
Connect to Your Local Public
We hope that Clio will help you create new connections in your local community. Each tour and entry has a unique URL which makes them easy to share on your website or social media. When you are ready to share your walking tours, virtual tours, and other resources, be sure to contact your local media outlets. You can also work with area educators to design activities for K-12 students and lesson plans for teachers. Hundreds of organizations have also incorporated Clio projects into their internship programs to provide opportunities for college students to create entries, trails, and tours under the guidance of experienced researchers and editors.
Grant Funding and Clio
Numerous organizations have secured grant funding to develop Clio resources such as virtual tours of their museum or walking tours in their community. Since Clio is a free platform, any grant funding can support staff and fund research.
Want to go beyond the guides and videos?
Clio is sustained by donations, including funds from speaking engagements and consulting. Our founder, Dr. David Trowbridge, uses all funds from his talks and consulting work to sustain Clio so it stays free for everyone to use. For those looking for something beyond the guides and videos, Trowbridge offers paid consultation, offering help with topics from applying for grants to using Clio and other digital tools, along with creating and editing videos and podcasts. One-on-one consulting appointments are available for $30 for a half-hour or $50 for a full hour.