The Marin History Museum (MHM), based in San Rafael, joined a select group of prominent institutions on Thursday, with the launch of the Marin History Museum smartphone Application. The Museum is one of less than a dozen museums nationally that have developed applications as part of their public offerings. Other institutions that have developed museum apps include the New York MOMA, the Smithsonian Institutions, the Guggenheim, and the Museum of Natural History. The Museum is currently evolving its organizational focus to emphasize a more user-friendly community experience.

The Marin History Museum App allows users to travel through the history of Marin County by viewing an interactive map of the county with over 250 points of historical interest marked by geo-coded icons. Users can click each icon to gain access to virtual exhibitions of audio, video, and licensable photographs from the vast Marin History Museum Archives.  Additional features allow you to create your own “virtual tour” of Marin County’s Historic hotspots and give users GPS-like proximity to historic sites. “It’s a great educational tool and tremendous resource for Marin residents and visitors alike to learn more about the history all around them and it’s impact on the history of California,” said George Thelen, Museum Volunteer and Project Manager on the App. “This App will ultimately give users access to a vast  ‘Virtual Museum’ of Marin History Museum digitized content & archives.” While the majority of museum apps are directly related to an onsite exhibit, the MHM app goes beyond the brick and mortar walls or the Museum and allows users to explore the rich history of beautiful Marin County.

The Marin History Museum App gives users access to the largest and most extensive collection of Marin County related historic content. The non-profit Marin History Museum is the steward of the largest collection of artifacts, photographs and ephemera related to Marin County and the Museum is solely supported by community donations and contributions of individual donors. The museum is fortunate to have received a generous donation to fund this application, as the majority of museum apps that are developed by large institutions are done so with significantly higher budgets and resources.

Historic locations marked on the map include ancient Miwok Indian sites, historic residences, regional & local historical societies, movie locations, state & national landmarks and more than 75 historic shipwrecks off the Marin Coast dating back to 1595. The App will be updated monthly and is available for FREE for a limited time on iPhone, iPad and Android platforms online on the APP Store.