Ann Arbor-based Museum Edutainment has released BARDEUM, an app that allows visitors to go beyond the traditional museum experience and experience educational, entertaining stories about historical sites as they are guided virtually through a variety of historic locations.
Already available to tour are the Roman Colosseum with the program “Blood and Sand” accompanying, written by Simon Sparrow and narrated by actor Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje. Or visit the Circus Maximus accompanied by “The Charioteer,” written by Margaret George and narrated by actor George Blagden.
Washington D.C. also features several experiences available for touring right now:
- Korean War Memorial – Hampton Sides, bestselling author (On Desperate Ground) has written Unforgotten which tells the true story of a young soldier caught in one of the most ferocious battles of the war.
- Jefferson Memorial – Laura Kamoie, NYT bestselling author (America’s First Daughter) has written To Begin the World Again. Users step inside the story of the creation of the Declaration of Independence.
- FDR Memorial – H. W. Brands, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist (Traitor to His Class) has written Courage & Determinationrelaying one of the most pivotal moments in the life of FDR – his diagnosis of polio.
- Vietnam War Memorial – Eric Blehm, NYT bestselling author (Legend) has written Behind Enemy Lineswhich tells the incredible true story of Roy Benavidez and his heroic acts on May 2, 1968.
- Washington Monument – Edward J. Larson, Pulitzer prize winning author, (Return of George Washington) has written Retiring Becomes Himoffering a glimpse into one of the most remarkable acts of our nation’s first president.
- WWII Memorial – Gregory A. Freeman, author of The Forgotten 500 has written Field of Firetelling just one of the countless stories that exemplify the sacrifice of those who fought in WWII.
London also has a few:
- James’s Park – Death of a King: The Path to Executiontransports visitors back to the 30thof January 1649, as King Charles I was paraded through the park to his execution at Whitehall. Written by historian and best-selling author Lord Charles Spencer (Killers of the King) and narrated by actor Anthony Howell (Selfridges).
- Hyde Park – The Great Exhibition, written by Sunday Timesbestselling author Elizabeth Macneal (The Doll Factory) and narrated by actress Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey), takes visitors back to the opening day of the Great Exhibition in 1851.
- Kensington Gardens – Tales of a Mistress in the Georgian Court, written by BBC historian Tracy Borman and narrated by actress Flora Montgomery, allows visitors to travel back to 1734 and become walking companions to Henrietta Howard, mistress to King George II.
Coming this summer, Florence, and the Palace of Versailles will have experiences available on the app.
The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play Store, with experiences ranging from $3.99 to $4.99.
