The historic Valley Forge National Park, home of the 1777 winter encampment of General Washington’s army, spans 3500 acres and has been a popular tourist attraction for decades. The park offers guided tours and self-guided options. But how does a park celebrating an event over 200 years old stay current without damaging its historical integrity? Valley Forge teamed up with Guide by Cell back in 2006 to solve that particular quandary — let visitors use their own mobile device to engage, learn and connect with the park’s rich

Valley Forge National Park is huge! Providing tours covering all parts of the park is challenging, especially since people can enter the park anytime they wish. To provide an educational experience for visitors, the park posts signs prompting visitors to either call into the audio tour or to text in or scan a QR code on their smartphone.

“With the mobile and audio tours we believe we can engage visitors throughout their tour and provide quality interpretation of the site,” said Stephanie Loeb, Media Specialist. “Most visitors also carry an electronic device, and many an internet enabled device with a data plan, so by utilizing these services we’re capitalizing on technology that they are already coming with.”

Valley Forge also has implemented a mobile-friendly website that contains all the pertinent attraction information, park hours, videos and audio and even visitor fun-quizzes. Loeb wants to engage not only with visitors traveling through the area, but also the local recreational community that jogs, rides bikes, picnics and visits the park at all hours of the day. ”It’s important to provide brief historical facts about the site these local residents choose to recreate in,” said Loeb.

What’s the secret of Valley Forge’s mobile integration? Loeb says: “Make it simple. Sign placement is key. Keep the content brief and engaging. Make it fun. Using Guide by Cell has helped us accomplish these goals.”