Cincinnati—Today, Google Maps for Android adds more than 20 US museums and a zoo to its indoor maps, including Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal. Using Google Maps on an Android, visitors to Cincinnati Museum Center will know where they are deep inside Union Terminal’s 500,000 sf. at any moment. Cincinnati is the only museum in Ohio to be included in this next phase of indoor maps.
Users can zoom into the detailed floor plan, access additional information about the building and key points of interest, and browse these floor plans for each location.
Union Terminal
“Union Terminal is a glorious Art Deco train station readapted to house three museums, a historical library and archives, special exhibit space and an OMNIMAX theater,” said Shawn Mummert, Cincinnati Museum Center’s informatics champion. “Navigating the intertwining circular ramps of the train station-turned-exhibit halls can sometimes be a challenge. Google Maps on Android provides a terrific tool for us to help visitors enhance their experience.”
Mummert was first introduced to Google’s Indoor Map project in March of this year at the South by Southwest Interactive (SxSWi) conference. He knew this tool could be helpful to Museum Center. After showing photos of the iconic Union Terminal (also known as the inspiration for the Hall of Justice) to the Google team, they were intrigued and ready to take on the challenge. Google collaborated with Cincinnati Museum Center to build a detailed indoor map using floor plans and other information about the space.
Visitors to Cincinnati Museum Center will be able to see the floor plan, find important points of interest such as specific exhibits, box office ticket counter, restrooms or an ATM. Visitors may also opt-in to the My Location feature and more accurately pin point where they are inside Union Terminal. This indoor map feature combines information of our paper maps, available at the box office, with the convenience of location awareness of Google Maps.
Indoor Maps are part of the Google Maps for Android devices version 6.0 and up. Users will need to update the Google Maps application on their device in order to access these maps, but no updates will be required after that one-time installation. Users can get the Google Maps for Android app on Google Play using their smartphones, tablets or desktops, and install it on Android smartphones and tablets.
For more information, visit www.cincymuseum.org.