British Museum to bring better experience for children

A new app to bring better experience for children visiting the British Museum was launched as the museum announced Wednesday morning a renewal of contract with Samsung for cooperation of another five years. The app, called A Gift for Athena, gives visitors a chance to learn more about Greek culture through games. By putting the tablet in front of a certain stature, visitor could find stories behind it. They will also be able to learn about the design and history of the Parthenon in Athens by piecing together the jigsaws or discovering the hidden patterns from sculptures. According to Richard Woff, head of Schools and Young Audiences at the museum, this app was mainly designed for students, while family users could explore the exhibitions with it as well. "Having used a range of mobile technology across our offering for young audiences, we had a good idea of what worked well," he said. "We know that revealing tablets in a session always produces gasps of excitement ... we have also seen that tablet devices can promote collaboration between students." This new program is considered an expansion of the popular discovery center of the British Museum founded in 2009 in collaboration with Samsung. For four years, it has attracted more than 40,000 participants from age three to 18. It currently reaches more than 5,000 students annually, almost 20 percent of the total number of school students taught in the British Museum each year. "Families and schoolchildren of all ages have found these superb digital tools irresistible," said Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, "For us they have become indispensable in opening up and encouraging active engagement with our vast and varied collection." Andy Griffiths, managing director of Samsung UK and Ireland, said: "the British Museum has been at the forefront of innovating digital learning and we are excited to see where the future will take us."