In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, Thursday, May 21, join your community to support everyone's access to Iowa's history. As part of this initiative, we are working to raise $3,100 to sustain the annual NaviLens license and continual exhibit improvements at the State Historical Museum of Iowa. Your donation helps ensure that the stories and legacy of Iowans remain accessible to everyone.
Donate to the Iowa Historical Foundation Annual Fund
Your generosity supports our mission of preserving Iowa's history to share and learn from for generations to come. Every donation counts.
NaviLens is an exciting new way to experience the State Historical Museum of Iowa! Using the free smartphone app NaviLens GO, visitors can scan an exhibit space to pick up innovative digital codes that unlock never-before-seen exhibit content including:
- Additional images from the State Historical Society of Iowa collection
- Videos to bring history to life
- Audio for auditory learners
- Special youth content for children, including scavenger hunts, activities, and Goldie's Tweets questions
- Auto-translations into 42 different languages
A separate free app called NaviLens (without the “GO”) provides additional navigation information for people who are blind or have low vision, alerting visitors to exits, restrooms, elevators, exhibits, and more. Scan a room with the app to hear what is located in that direction and its proximity. Visitors also gain access to artifact descriptions, locations of touchable objects, and exhibit content—all read out loud from your personal device. This technology is a significant advancement in making the museum more welcoming, allowing visitors to independently navigate museum spaces, access detailed information, and engage with exhibits in a variety of formats.
Best of all the apps are free to download and don't require an account—all a visitor needs is a smart device. No smartphone? No problem! A limited number of iPads are available to borrow from the museum information desk.
Visit the museum to try NaviLens today—it has something for everyone!
