Morton Arboretum introduces smartphone app with tours, news
The Morton Arboretum has released its first mobile app featuring a menu of options that includes a GPS-coordinated map pinpointing the arboretum's most popular points of interest, information about arboretum events, exhibits and classes for all ages, as well as self-guided tours.
Highlighting various sites within the arboretum, the tours available on the app offer different experiences, from fun, educational spots for families and kids to a tour designed for birding enthusiasts.
All tours include trail lengths and the time it takes to traverse them, as well as a way for users to note when they've visited a point of interest. Tours currently available on the app include:
• Fun for Kids: a 1.1-mile trek filled with fun locations for children;
• Adventures in Birding: a 2-mile journey through marshes and woodlands;
• Amazing Habitat Hike: walk 6 miles of habitats protected within the arboretum's 1,700 acres
• West Side Wanderlust: discover 2 miles of tranquil natural beauty;
• Great Trees Trail: a 4-mile journey through towering trees.
Visitors can unlock achievements by completing tours. All of the maps in the app are location-aware and let you find your exact location within the arboretum at any time.
"With 16 miles of hiking trails and our award-winning Children's Garden, there's something here for everyone, and this new app offers visitors an easy, portable way to learn about the many scenic locations at the arboretum," said Mary Samerdyke, manager of interpretation at the Morton Arboretum.
Another key feature is the Member tab, where arboretum members can enter their information, transforming their smartphone into a membership card that can be presented at the Gatehouse, in the Arboretum Store and at the Ginkgo Restaurant and Café.
Key to the development of the app is technology that allows the app to be updated through the arboretum's Drupal content management system, which also powers its website. This innovation allows for easy enhancement of the news, maps and tour information so they can be changed season by season. The Morton Arboretum's app was developed by Breakthrough Technologies of Evanston.
The Morton Arboretum app works on Apple iOS-enabled devices with cellular connectivity, including iPhones. To download the free app, visit the App Store.