Manitoba Historical Society launches app for historic destinations
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The Manitoba Historical Society has launched an app that points out historic places in the province with about a hundred sites located in the Southeast.
“I think we’re hoping that we can really connect with Manitobans and tourists and visitors to discover Manitoba’s rich heritage that’s around them,” said executive director Tracey Turner. “Right now, you can access over 10,000 historic sites right in the palm of your hand. Anywhere you travel in Manitoba you’re able to connect with prominent landmarks, historical sites, monuments, museums, cemeteries, historic buildings, etc. It’s a fantastic resource to connect with people and see their heritage around them.”
Since announcing the app last Friday, the MHS InSite app has been downloaded 4,595 times. There are 3,079 users on IOS and 1,516 on Android. The app has also received a number of five-star reviews on Google.
The app shows where the landmarks are and when you click on a point of interest the history of that landmark comes up in the app as well as a link to the Manitoba Historical Society’s webpage for that landmark. Visitors can also get directions to the historic site and searches can be filtered by category or designation.
“I guess if we’re thinking about people that are taking vacations or going on road trips that are Manitobans (the app) will open up a whole new world in things they can see and do as they go about a road trip or even take short excursions in the evening. It will enhance visitors to Manitoba and enhance their experience certainly,” said Turner.
It cost just under $10,000 to create the app, which was developed by Tichon Technologies. Manitoba Historical Society got a grant from the province to pay for the app.
“So, one of the things that you might discover when you’re using the app is you might discover the site of a place where there was formally a historic site that’s now been demolished or fallen into ruins. So, it’s going to preserve the history of things that aren’t there anymore as well. It’s to increase appreciation for what we have and also increase education for what we’ve lost,” said Turner.
Turner said it’s the mandate of the Manitoba Historical Society to increase the appreciation of Manitoba’s heritage and also increase the ability to protect and preserve that heritage.
“(The app) has a way of definitely enhancing people’s appreciation for what’s around them,” she said.