5 Mobile Apps For Visiting Washington, D.C.
Planning a visit to our nation's capitol? These mobile apps, created by federal agencies, guide and educate travelers.
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Washington, D.C. is one of our nation's most beautiful and culturally rich cities. But its plethora of monuments, museums, and other attractions can make planning a visit overwhelming. Fortunately, the federal government has created several mobile apps to help educate, inform, and help the public explore the US capitol.
Want to impress your friends or family with your knowledge of the District's many statues? Start with the just-released Guide to the National Statuary Hall Collection of State Statues for devices running Apple's iOS. The mobile guide illustrates and provides locations for 100 statues donated by the 50 states to commemorate Americans throughout history. Thirty-five statues can be found in National Statuary Hall; the others are found in other parts of Washington, D.C., including the Crypt, the Hall of Columns, and the Rotunda.
Using the Guide, visitors can locate their state statue by name or state, look it up on a map of the US, and zoom in to enlarge images or text describing each statue. The app was developed by Architect of the Capitol, a federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, and preservation of buildings on Capitol Hill.
The new app is one of many available on the government's official Web portal, USA.gov, which houses more than 130 apps for Apple, Android, and BlackBerry devices. The categories include education, utilities, health and fitness, medical, news, travel, lifestyle, finance, business, entertainment, weather, and navigation, among others.
In addition to the apps listed on USA.gov, the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) keeps a current catalog of more than 250 native, state government apps for smartphones and tablets. The catalog does not include apps developed by third parties that use available state data.
The move by federal agencies to develop mobile apps is part of a larger Digital Government Strategy, which aims to make information and services available to the public anytime, anywhere, on any device.
Agencies increasingly have the tools to implement customer-facing mobile products. DigitalGov is one platform that provides agencies with resources like a crowdsourcing toolkit, a mobile code sharing catalog, and various guidelines for deploying mobile services.
InformationWeek Government has been reporting on mobile government and frequently profiling the latest apps from federal agencies. Dig into our guide to apps for Washington, D.C. visitors. Did we miss one of your favorites? Tell us in the comments section.
US Capitol Visitor Guide, from Architect of the Capitol, contains all the information for exploring the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C. App users can learn about booking tours, visitor amenities, locations, and hours of operation of the Exhibition Hall, the Capitol Grounds, and the Statue of Freedom, among others. The iPhone app also provides details for watching Congress in session along with a "must-see" list of exhibitions.
Smithsonian Mobile is a digital guide to the Smithsonian Institution for both iPhone and Android smartphones. The app lets visitors see what's going on where, search collections, and add tips and photos for other visitors to see. Users can share their impressions and photos on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Smithsonian also has a Visitors Guide and Tours app that includes turn-by-turn directions to five of the Smithsonian museums.
Peeking into the White House
The White House has an official mobile app that offers the latest updates from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When in the capitol -- or anywhere around the country -- visitors can stay on top of news from the White House blog and the briefing room. Additionally, the app features photo and video archives and live streams of events with President Obama and officials from his administration. The White House mobile app can be downloaded on iPhone and Android smartphones.
Peeking into the White House
The White House has an official mobile app that offers the latest updates from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. When in the capitol -- or anywhere around the country -- visitors can stay on top of news from the White House blog and the briefing room. Additionally, the app features photo and video archives and live streams of events with President Obama and officials from his administration. The White House mobile app can be downloaded on iPhone and Android smartphones.
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