The latest app created with our tour app builder platform showcases the rich history of Sparks, Nevada and the Spark Heritage Museum and is now available for free for iPhone in iTunes and Android in Google Play. The app was sponsored by Nevada Humanities and Union Pacific and compiles over twenty years of work and research by the volunteers of the Sparks Heritage Museum. Called “Sparks NV Historic Tour,” it provides a GPS-based walking tour and new, interactive way for visitors and locals to experience the city’s original business district through “Stories of Nevada’s Past.” At designated stops throughout the route—such as the Southern Pacific Roundhouse, Machine Shops and Union Pacific Yards & Depot—users listen to histories share information about each location’s past. They can also view vintage photos to compare the past and present in real-time.
The app also fills a need for Sparks Heritage Museum to provide visitors with a self-guided tour tool and is curated with information about the exhibits that showcase the rapid changes Sparks and its surrounding areas have experienced through the years. App users will learn about Sparks’ start as a ranching and mining community all the way to its significant role in the Space program.
“The app enables us to share our collection, to educate residents about the history of their immediate surroundings, and to preserve local Nevada history in a digital format,” says Anthea Humphreys, the Museum’s Director.
One of the app’s features allows visitors to point their phone at an existing building on Victorian Avenue and see a photo of what the building looked like 50 or 100 years ago. Users are put back in time through the app photos uploaded by the Sparks Museum and see what the Great Basin Brewery used to look like, where the trolley use to run between Reno and Sparks, and the Southern Pacific facilities and equipment that date back over 100 years ago to the construction of the railroad. Six nationally registered historic buildings are featured on the tour.
We’re excited that the Nevada Humanities and Union Pacific saw the value in sponsoring an app for the city of Sparks and the Sparks Heritage Museum so the historians and museum volunteers could compile their knowledge and artifacts with our tour app builder and create an interactive experience for visitors.
Download at:
Sparks NV Historic Tours at the Apple Store for iPhone
