The Ephraim Historical Foundation is proud to continue the first-ever Historic Ephraim Audio Walking Tour, a self-guided tour that is available for check-out through the Ephraim Visitor's Center. Created in 2008 by Melissa Ripp, Business & Marketing Director at that time, the audio tour players are available for check-out through the Ephraim Visitor's Center weekends during the month of May, and then seven days a week during the summer and fall season.
"I am very happy with the length and the quality of the tour," she said, "and the specific audio player we selected is an audio/video player, which makes it possible to show pictures on the player's screen at different intervals throughout the tour. The tour was also a great way to use some of the photos in the Foundation's archives -- I tried to use vintage photos whenever possible so that people who are taking the tour might see what the same buildings or places may have looked like 50 or 100 years ago."
In addition to the audio walking tours, the EHF also hosts guided walking tours throughout the summer, as they have for many years. Ripp hopes that the audio tours will only build on the many ways Ephraim visitors and residents alike can learn about the history of Ephraim. "There are two main reasons for programming this audio tour. The first was so people could take a tour of Ephraim whenever they wanted -- not just the particular mornings we hosted a guided walking tour. The other reason is that many kinds of audio tours -- whether they be on iPods or cell phones -- have become increasingly popular in museum culture. More schools and museums are using audio tours and podcasts as a way to share information, and with the portability of these mediums, it makes sense to offer these kinds of tours. Demographics of museum visitors are changing, and we want to make sure that we always stay on top of what is current, even in a village as tiny as Ephraim."
The cost of taking the historic audio walking tour is $5, and includes entrance to four Ephraim Village Museum buildings. Parties interested in taking the audio tour will be required to leave either a valid driver's license or credit card before embarking on the tour. The Ephraim Visitor's Center has graciously agreed to house and check-out the audio tours in their building on Water Street/Highway 42. The audio tours are checked out at the Visitor's Center, but the tour actually begins at the Anderson Barn History Center, which is just off of Highway 42 on Anderson Lane. The audio track of the tour last approximately 40 minutes.
The Foundation has received wonderful feedback both about the quality of the audio walking tour as well as its operation -- so please, think about taking the Ephraim Audio Walking Tour the next time you are in our beautiful village! For more information on the Ephraim Audio Walking Tour, please call the Ephraim Historical Foundation at (920) 854-9688, or the Ephraim Visitor's Center at (920) 854-4989.
