Duane Hicks
Linking technology and local history, the Fort Frances Museum and Cultural Centre is creating a self-guided walking tour that would encourage tourists to explore the town and learn more about local establishments and their individual histories.
The tour will be done through the use of Quick Response (QR) codes, which can be scanned with any smartphone device.
A QR code is a computer-generated image that is used as a shortcut to connect customers directly with websites or online resources.
Each business will be given a QR code, which they would place in their window or on their building.
When scanned, this instantly would link users to a website that shares additional information about that establishment, using the Fort Frances Museum website as a hub.
The information would differ from location to location, and could deal with the history of the establishment (i.e., old photos, past uses for the building, and interesting facts), as well as current information, with recent photos, current owner, products/services offered, website link, and phone number.
“We would like to see more people uptown,” noted museum curator Sherry George. “We would like to see more people aware of what the history of our area would have looked like.
“And so we came up with this idea of using QR codes so somebody could actually look at a code and it would bring up the history of that building, what businesses were there, and maybe give a brief outline of what that business is,” said George, who has been working on the project along with student placement Samantha Manty and digital records developer Jeremy Hughes.
“It would all be linked back to the museum website.
“We would hope to include not only businesses but historical buildings, so the old Mackenzie Hospital, the mill was the site of the Hudson Bay Company post, old historical homes,” George added.
“Maybe the history of La Verendrye hospital, what it used to look like. Some of the old churches, what they used to look like.”
George said the guided tour would offer many benefits, such as providing an easy-to-follow interactive tour for tourists that urges them to explore the town, especially the downtown area, and end up shopping or dining there.
It also would encourage local residents to learn about their past. And when they have out-of-town guests visit, they can act as “tour guides” and make a day of it showing them around.
“Most of us don’t know the history of every building here, so if you have family visiting and it’s like, ‘Okay, what are we going to do today?’ You could say, ‘This is what we’re going to do today,’ and provide a fairly knowledgeable tour of the town,” George explained.
It also would help promote Fort Frances as a tourist destination, as well as help promote the local museum, by using technology to engage tourists, which is more important than ever these days.
George said the project would not cost a lot—simply the promotion of the tour (i.e., advertisements, posters, etc.) and the printing and laminating of posters with QR codes on them, which could be put up in windows.
“Eventually, we’re hoping they will be plaques that will be posted inside windows or on the outside or a building or fence,” she noted.
“It’s possible you could even put it on bricks in the ground.
“It’s something we’re going to develop slowly and as simply as possible to begin with,” George stressed. “We hope people will be interested and take part in it—why couldn’t it cover the town eventually?
“It’s something we’re exploring and I guess it will take off if people are interested.
“It could go into International Falls,” she added. “We’re going to call it the ‘Border Walking Tour,’ so it’s something International Falls could get involved in someday.”
The success of the project, however, will depend on the participation of local businesses and others, who would be able to provide information on historic homes and other sites.
Manty will be going from business to business to gauge interest.
Business owners will be asked to fill out a questionnaire, provide the history of their establishment, and help provide any information or photos relating to other buildings in the Fort Frances area.
Meanwhile, museum staff will:
•create QR codes for each establishment;
•condense the information provided by establishments and fill in the blanks (as time and resources permit);
•upload photos and information onto the museum website;
•provide a base where tourists can get information about the tour, and learn more about the history of our town;
•create a recognizable logo which will have the QR code on it, and providing this to establishments to place in their window or on the building; and
•ensure that participating establishments are comfortable with the QR code and explaining how the tour works.
Once in place, the walking tour would be promoted, with support from the local BIA and Chamber of Commerce, through advertising on the town map and publications such as “Discover,” possibly on a sign or billboard, or through participating businesses and their websites.
