Virginia News Has Reported 17 Smithsonian Museums are Mapped from the Inside!

As reported by Virginia news stations (NBC12), no more asking - How do we get there? Or what can we see? These are the two most asked questions by visitors to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. For easier exploration, the Smithsonian has collaborated with Google to map its indoor public spaces - the National Zoo and 17 museums.

The National Zoo

Now, many of the millions of yearly visitors to the Smithsonian can electronically pinpoint themselves within the building, and explore the building interiors, floor by floor. Google Maps for Android allows visitors to navigate between and within each museum.

The Smithsonian

Within the context of eateries, restrooms, stairs, exhibits and other features; users will see themselves on the map as a blue dot that will show their orientation and location. Providing visitors guided navigation within each museum, walking directions between destinations are also available within the app.

Exhibits

Nancy Proctor, head of mobile strategy and initiatives at the Smithsonian said “An increasing number of our visitors now turn to their mobile devices and familiar applications to help them find their way and get information about the Smithsonian. Indoor Google Maps helps us achieve our goal of putting the Smithsonian in their hands, both literally and figuratively.”

The over 2.7 million square feet mapped indoor spaces of the Smithsonian include several hundred clickable stand-alone objects and points of interest, each of which can be tapped to set as a destination.

Indoor Spaces of the Smithsonian

Smithsonian interiors that are mapped in Washington, D.C. include: The Castle (Smithsonian Institution Building), Smithsonian American Art Museum, S. Dillon Ripley Center, Renwick Gallery, National Zoological Park, National Postal Museum, National Portrait Gallery, National Museum of the American Indian, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of American History, National Museum of African Art, National Air and Space Museum, National Mall Building, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Freer Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the Anacostia Community Museum.

Renwick Gallery

Interiors that are mapped outside Washington, D.C. include: National Museum of the American Indian, George Gustav Heye Center in New York City and the National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

National Museum of the American Indian

To help visitors explore their surroundings easily, Google and the Smithsonian will continue to increase the number of features and the level of exhibit detail in the maps. Indoor Maps are available on Google Maps for Android 6 or above and Android 2.2 or above. Source: Virginia news NBC12.

Google Maps for Android 6.0

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