The Washington state location is seeking to keep its experience fresh and current for visitors.
The Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame museum in Washington state is using QR code technology to give their visitors a more fresh and current experience.
The museum has taken great care to keep things new and interesting to encourage regular visitors.
Among the strategies the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame has employed includes rotating exhibits as well as regularly moving things to different locations around the museum. Moreover, it also provides local schools with a helpful educational experience for their students. The location also holds regular events, such as the Flags of Fame auction that it held at the end of August and through which it generated an estimated $32,000.
That event provided important fundraising for the museum’s next step, which will include the use of QR code technology to further expand the experience offered from its exhibits. The quick response barcodes make it possible for guests to interact with exhibits using their phones, for additional digital resources. Those resources will provide more information about Ellensburg, the ProRodeo Hall of Fame rodeo and the specific exhibits.
The QR code technology offers a natural way to provide lots of additional information without needing more space.
“We have the new website and security cameras going in, so the QR codes are the next step in our technology upgrade,” said Mitch Truax, technology chair. “There are museums out there that feature this kind of opportunity where you can put on a headphone or ear buds and follow along.” Traux went on to state that “We’re dedicated to the Western lifestyle and we recognize that having one of the better rodeos is really a big part of our community identity. It’s important to preserve it and to make it fun for people to engage in that.”
The intention is to provide guests scanning the barcodes with information about rodeo history, the different exhibits throughout the museum, and about the Hall of Fame inductees. Visitors will be able to learn more about everything from rodeo buckle winners to historic figures and the Yakama Nation, among other subjects.
The implementation of the QR code technology was preceded by a website redesign as well as boosting the museum’s YouTube channel, adding information videos to help use modern tech to inform and educate about the historic past.
