The stretch of road between Idaho Falls and Arco has a lot to tell you – if only it could speak.
Starting this summer, it can.
TravelStorys is an app you download on your cellphone and when you go past certain GPS locations, your phone starts an audio tour about the area.
The story closest to Idaho Falls is about Idaho National Laboratory (INL), but TravelStorys are available across the country.
“Every place has a story to tell. Our job is to deliver the story to the visitor as they experience the site, so that they understand, appreciate, and engage with these places in a new way,” says Christie Koriakin, production director at TravelStorysGPS, LLC. Other nearby stories are in Sun Valley, Yellowstone and Jackson. Some of the tours are meant for driving and some are for walking. There are even paddle trails.
It’s also not limited to the outdoors.
You can use the TravelStorys app inside the Experimental Breeder Reactor-I museum to learn about the history of the first nuclear power plant in the world. Then you can listen to the app on your way to or from the museum to learn about current and future INL missions.
“It’s a great way to tell INL’s story,” says Sara Prentice, INL’s Mission Enabling Communications manager. “Sometimes it feels like we’re the best-kept secret in Idaho, but really, we want people to know what we’re doing and how we’re helping secure the nation’s energy future.”
Last summer, 14,000 people from around the world visited EBR-I. Many are people just driving across the desert and serendipitously wander into the museum. Even among locals, the museum’s existence is sometimes a surprise. For others, though, it’s a bucket-list quest. One visitor last year from Chicago said he had been trying to visit the museum for more than 30 years – and he finally made it.
The museum is open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Guided tours still will be offered at the museum. Or you can have your phone give you a self-guided tour, if you prefer. Beacons inside the museum activate the app on your phone and tell the story so you can go at your own pace.
“It’s a great interactive tool,” says Prentice. “You could even listen to the tour without actually going to the location. The pictures and narration are available anywhere.” Later in the season, the EBR-I/INL tours will be translated into Mandarin.
This year, visitors to the museum can also check out the Containment Dome Theater. This intimate theater was housed at the Museum of Idaho but recently has been relocated to EBR-I. Watch a movie; take a tour; learn something. You can spend an hour or an afternoon. “If you haven’t been to EBR-I yet, this is the year to go. If you have been before, it’s time to go again,” says Prentice.
Click here to read more of Idaho Falls Magazine's May issue.