Western Australian Museum Media Release, New app puts the WA Museum in your pocket, 20 January 2015

The Western Australian Museum’s incredible collections and valuable research are now more accessible than ever with the release of a new app that effectively puts the Museum in your pocket.

The new app – Reveal WAM – streams WA Museum content direct to your smartphone or tablet, and was released this morning.

Reveal WAM packages articles, blogs, videos and web features into a simple mobile app.

Digital Services Manager Morgan Strong said the Museum aims to reach the public in as many ways as possible.

“We believe that the COPE principle – create once, publish everywhere – should drive all digital publishing,” Mr Strong said.

“This allows our stories and research to go to beyond our physical exhibitions and websites, and reach entirely new audiences at the tap of the finger.

“With more than two-thirds of Australians owning a smartphone, this app can help us reach many more people,” he said.

The WA Museum recently digitised a selection of historic Western Australian photographs, including the very significant Dwyer and Mackay Collection, which are now accessible using the app.

The Dwyer and Mackay Collection documents everyday life in the Goldfields at the turn of the 20th Century, from the development of the mining industry, to landscapes, to the personal lives of locals through portraits.  More than 5,000 images taken by Goldfields photographers John Joseph Dwyer and Thomas Faulkner Mackay have been digitised, creating an extraordinary online record of the region’s history.

“They are now also just a swipe away on your phone or tablet,” Mr Strong said.

“By complementing our research and digital features with our amazing collections, we can offer a comprehensive museum app with wide audience appeal.”

To mark Reveal WAM’s release, the WA Museum has prepared a suite of new content including:

• 12 feature articles
• 5 podcasts
• 7 photo galleries
• 2 feature videos

These will be released over coming weeks.

These exclusive digital features will describe meteorites from the moon and Mars; famous and not-so-famous Western Australian fauna; shipwrecks; bird migrations; and dozens more extraordinary Western Australian stories.

The app is available free of charge through the iTunes Store for iPhone and iPad, with an Android version due for release in coming weeks.

https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/reveal-wam/id950920567?mt=8