News

Worcester, MA, August 15, 2024 — The EcoTarium today announced the official launch of the EcoTarium Explorer app, a mobile-phone navigation app created in partnership with WPI to help all visitors navigate the outdoor exhibits and experiences. Together with EcoTarium’s Exhibit Department, fourth year computer science and data science students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) designed and implemented the app as their Major Qualifying Project (MQP). The app is designed to enhance the outdoor exhibit experience for all visitors, with a particular focus on accessibility for those with visual impairments.

The app was designed to enhance accessibility for all guests, especially those who are blind or have low vision. The app features descriptions of the outdoor exhibits, including audio descriptions, a voice guidance interface, hazard alerts, and navigation maps. It will help guests find their way safely around the EcoTarium’s 45 acres of natural grounds, from Wildcat Station to the North American River Otter Habitat, to the Train Station, to the historic statue of a “Siegfried” the Stegosaurus.

The EcoTarium Explorer app includes both a Standard Mode and a Low Vision Mode:

Standard Mode comes with:

• Nav Bar: Voice command and links to all pages.
• Landing Screen: Highlights featured exhibits.
• Gallery Page: Includes a search bar and alternating-color exhibit buttons for easier navigation.
• Exhibit Pages: Feature an image carousel, more description toggle, audio player, and a link to navigate directly to the exhibit.
• Map Page: Offers an interactive map with unique exhibit icons, a drop-down waypoint filter, and zoom level marker grouping.
• Navigation: Provides arrow navigation, real-time directions, exhibit info pop-ups, and hazard alerts.

Low Vision Mode includes added features such as:

• Landing Screen: Features an all-purpose search/voice command bar and a gallery list.
• Exhibit Pages: Re-organized for easy screen-reading while retaining all the features of Standard Mode.
• Navigation: Offers more frequent directions for easier guidance.

The EcoTarium’s Technical Special Projects Manager Eric Zago served as the project sponsor and met with the students weekly to help them identify the exhibits and experiences around the grounds to include in the app. This included working with them to include tools that will allow the museum to add and update content to the app over time. “Having been through the MQP experience as a student myself, I was delighted to be able to give back to the WPI community by working with these students on the development of this navigation assistance app,” said Eric, an alumni of WPI with a BS in Management Information Systems.

Director of Education and Exhibits at the EcoTarium Katie Chappell shared her enthusiasm for the project with WPI students working at the EcoTarium. “We are fortunate to have WPI as a local STEM resource,” said Chappell “The EcoTarium Explorer app fits squarely within our mission to inspire a passion for science and nature through one-of-a-kind experiences, interactive exhibits, and accessible programming for all.” Ensuring universal accessibility and equitable access for all members of our community is one of the EcoTarium’s priorities outlined in the strategic plan.

The initial phase of the app prototype focused exclusively on outdoor exhibits, where the WPI team conducted extensive testing of GPS functionality, pathfinding algorithms, and the integration of audio content. The release of the EcoTarium Explorer app is a milestone of progress in the EcoTarium’s ongoing efforts to create a more inclusive environment.

To install the free app, visitors can use the QR codes on any of the signs posted around the EcoTarium grounds or search the App Store/Play Store for “EcoTarium Explorer.” The EcoTarium encourages all guests (whether they are blind/low vision or not) to provide feedback about the app to protoapp@ecotarium.org so that WPI students and EcoTarium staff can implement suggestions for improvements.

Plans for the further development of the app to offer expanded navigation support are planned for the Fall 2024 and include improved routing information, better path selection, and a feature to recalculate the route if a user has strayed from the recommended path.

Disclaimer: This app is in a prototype, or beta state. Though the app does provide navigation instructions about how to get around either locations, guests are cautioned to use their best judgment when following the instructions given to them by the apps, and to seek out assistance from staff if the instructions given to them are questionable.