Six Museums Launch Virtual Tours on Smartify Through Partnership with XpoNorth Digital
We are delighted to announce that six Highland museums are now live on the global stage thanks to a unique partnership between XpoNorth Digital and Smartify, the world’s most downloaded museum app.
This amazing collaboration means that the museums, Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; Gairloch Museum; Highlanders’ Museum; Cromarty Courthouse Museum; Brora Heritage Centre and Stromness Museum are able to showcase elements of Highland history worldwide.
Selected earlier this year to take part in the initiative, the chosen six have been busy preparing to digitise either parts of their collection or unique experiences. The process has transformed their ability to use digital tools and is also expected to result in employment opportunities and increased income generation in the future.
Now audiences around the world can access the treasure trove of their offering through the Smartify app, and engage with archives, artifacts, tours and memories.
Smartify connects people to art. Trusted by cultural organisations around the world, the platform is designed to entertain, enliven and enrich audiences. Smartify’s innovative technology and engaging storytelling makes cultural heritage accessible for a global audience.
To find out more about each project and a link to their digital tours see below.
Cromarty Courthouse Museum
Step through the door of this elegant eighteenth century Courthouse and come face to face with the tough Highland justice of the time; visit a prisoner, take part in a trial. This grade A listed building is the home to the museum of Cromarty and its neighbouring parish, Resolis. Its collections, exhibitions and learning zone provide a fascinating (and free) insight into the past, present and future of this unique part of Scotland.
Cromarty - Building on Slavery
A self-guided walk around some of the sites and buildings in Cromarty connected to the slave trade and the plantations of the Caribbean and South America, with David Alston and Nicole Bontemps. Distance 1.25 miles (2km).
Visit Cromarty Courthouse Museum on Smartify here.
The Highlanders’ Museum
Discover the rich and diverse history of the Highland regiment at The Highlanders’ Museum (Queen’s Own Highlanders Collection). Follow in the footsteps of the Highland soldier from just after the Battle of Culloden until the present day. Our Nationally Significant Collection, the largest collection of military artefacts outside of Edinburgh, includes an array of artefacts and archive material from the Seaforth Highlanders, The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, the Queen’s Own Highlanders, The Highlanders and most recently, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS).
Hidden Histories at The Highlanders' Museum
An audio-tour journey that will take you beyond the stories that you see throughout the museum, uncovering the unseen links to our colonial past.
Visit The Highlanders' Museum on Smartify here.
Inverness Museum & Art Gallery
Discover more about the unique history and culture of the city of Inverness and the Scottish Highlands at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery. Explore our fascinating range of artefacts and collections that celebrate Highland life and heritage. Our galleries feature both permanent and temporary exhibitions, which includes work from local artists and crafters in our community, to those further afield. Enjoy refreshments in our onsite cafe or browse our museum gift shop.
The Top Ten Tour
Join us on a tour through the museum, where we’ve specially selected our 'Top 10' objects for you to discover the highlights from our collections! Let the objects guide you on a journey through the ages, telling their stories, and about their place in the history and heritage of Inverness, and of the Scottish Highlands.
Visit Inverness Museum and Art Gallery on Smartify here.
Brora Heritage Centre
Brora Heritage Centre is a not-to-be-missed hidden gem! Just off the popular North Coast 500 tourist route in Brora, on Sutherland’s East coast, we celebrate our unique industrial Highland heritage, having once been home to the little-known, most northerly coal mine in Britain.
For over 400 years its coal fuelled a range of other local manufacturing industries, including salt, bricks, whisky and tweed and this history, together with many more local stories, are all to be discovered at the centre.
Brora Heritage Centre Highlights tour
Welcome to Brora Heritage Centre. Join us for this tour of our collection highlights, and venture through the rich history of our unique Highland industrial village. You won't be disappointed!
Visit Brora Heritage Centre on Smartify here.
Stromness Museum
Stromness Museum is an independent museum maintained and managed by a committee of volunteers elected from the members of the Orkney Natural History Society Museum SCIO.
It is one of Scotland's oldest independent museums, dating back to 1837 and the formation of the Orkney Natural History Society. On 20th May 2014 the trust changed its status and became a SCIO (Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation).
The Blue Plaque Trail
Wander through the historic streets of our town and explore the town’s heritage by following the Blue Plaque Trail. Discover the stories of the people behind the plaques told through objects from Stromness Museums Collections.
Visit Stromness Museum on Smartify here.
Gairloch Museum
Gairloch Museum is located in a converted nuclear bunker with galleries showcasing the history, culture and natural heritage of this beautiful area of the North West Highlands. Displays include the original lens from Rubh Re lighthouse, a replica croft house showing how people used to live and an interactive gallery about our magnificent natural world, midges and all!
Exploration videos
Through ten short and atmospheric videos, discover how the rich, dramatic landscape that surrounds Gairloch Museum is entwined with the history, heritage, and people of the local area.
Visit Gairloch Museum on Smartify here.
