Indoor Maps for Over 20 U.S. Museums Added to Maps App on Android

by  Zoë Mintz | Jul 18, 2012
iPhone
iPhone / Farknot_Architect/iStock

Besides navigating their way through the winding streets of Venice or LA’s daunting six-lane highways, Droid users can now get step-by-step directions indoors with new maps for over 20 U.S. museums on the latest version of the Google Maps app. D.C.’s Smithsonian reaps the largest reward. Seventeen of its museums, with 2.7 million square feet of space (60 football fields), are now navigable using the app. Droid users simply zoom into the building and the interior map will appear. A toggle on the right allows users to choose which floor they are on. The maps show markers for restrooms, food courts, stairways, and exhibits. The flashing blue dot, your electronic compass, will now be your guide as you take the kids on a bathroom break at the National Zoo or find the Wright Brothers’ plane at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Just make sure to shift your eyes from the blue dot to the 45.53 carat blue-violet Hope Diamond when you’re at the Museum of Natural History.

Users can also locate Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art or the notable Gaugin collection at the Indianapolis Museum of Art – two other museums recently added. Museums maps that are coming soon include those at the SFMOMA, The Phillips Collection in D.C., the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, and the National WWII Museum in New Orleans.

Google Maps launched their indoor map initiative in November with maps for several airports like Chicago O'Hare International and major retailers like IKEA and Macy’s.

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