News

January 11, 2018

Albany Institute of History & Art Starts 2018 with New Tour and New Leadership

The Albany Institute of History & Art has a new tour for visitors called the Family Discovery Tour, powered by AT&T. New Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Institute, F. Michael Tucker, was at the museum this week with representatives from AT&T and elected officials to premiere the tour just in time for the museum’s upcoming free admission day on Monday, January 15, which is sponsored by M&T Bank.

The Family Discovery Tour is the first in a series of tours that will encourage visitors to explore New York’s oldest museum using the modern technology in their pockets- their cell phones. After upgrades to the museum’s technological infrastructure, this self-guided and interactive tour is now an exciting option for families and guests of all ages to use while visiting the museum. It introduces users to the range of content at the Albany Institute of History & Art and it prompts participants to think about things like contemporary sculpture, Alexander Hamilton’s Albany connection, the legacy of the beaver, and even asks them to count the number of cows in the Hudson River School paintings.

Written for the family audience, the Family Discovery Tour is both informative and fun. Museum visitors “start” the tour near the museum’s admission desk and get introduced to the museum and their surroundings. The next stops examine sculpture on view in the museum’s atrium and in the Weir Sculpture Garden. Then the tour stops at the iconic sculpture of the Half Moon before heading into the formal galleries. Once in the galleries, the tour looks at some of the Victorian era dresses currently on view, a bust of Alexander Hamilton, and a portrait of Martin Van Buren before going into the Ancient Egyptian galleries, the Hudson River School: Landscape Paintings from the Albany Institute exhibition, and the exhibition Traders & Culture: Colonial Albany and the Formation of American Identity. Guests are prompted to pose, count, explore, and imagine along the way. QR codes provide links to additional information or related videos, written text is available for hard-of-hearing users, and the option to have multi-language translations are possibilities as well. The tour will be updated as content in the galleries changes with new exhibitions.

“We have been working towards this project for some time,” says Albany Institute of History & Art executive director Tammis Groft. “One of the biggest hurdles was the museum building itself- the thick walls were never designed with wi-fi and cell signal in mind. With support for our Tech Up initiatives as well as a grant from the Standish Foundation, we were able to make the upgrades necessary to make this project possible.”

Project supporter AT&T is interested in improving connectivity through technology. In 2016, AT&T supported the online exhibition The Capital Region in 50 Objects which gave the popular exhibition an extended life through a digital platform. “Now, with the Family Discovery Tour, AT&T brings exhibitions to life and encourages interactivity among museum guests,” said Ed Bergstraesser, AT&T director of external affairs.

“We really value the support of partners like AT&T,” says Tucker. “They look at projects creatively and help us accomplish things we would not be able to do without their help. This tour is just the first in a series that will enable visitors of all ages to enjoy all that the Albany Institute has to offer. Now, thanks to ATT, with the technology in place, the possibilities are endless.”

Access Tour Online:  Start your tour at the museum (or at home) at aiha.oncell.com. Informational brochures are available for visitors onsite.