Use case · Attractions
QR code & NFC for museums, galleries, and zoos.
Museums, galleries, zoos, and cultural sites use NearField to share stories visitors actually engage with — on their own phones, in their own language, and joined into a visitor passport when the whole route matters.
Printed signs go unread. Audio guide devices cost a fortune to maintain. QR codes that link to a plain webpage feel like an afterthought. Your exhibits deserve more — and your guests expect more.
Picture this.
A family visits a natural history museum. Their child taps a Marker next to a dinosaur skeleton and watches a 60-second video about how the fossil was discovered. In Spanish.
A gallery opens a temporary photography exhibit. The curator builds an Experience in 20 minutes with artist statements and behind-the-scenes video. When the exhibit ends, they relink the Markers to the next show — no new hardware needed.
A zoo places Markers at each habitat. Visitors tap to read conservation stories, see rescue photos, and find out how to donate — in their own language.
Hear from real organizations.
Museum at Prairiefire
Overland Park, KS
Amarillo Railroad Museum
Amarillo, TX
Bug & Reptile Museum
Bremerton, WA
"We are so thankful for you and the amazing product you have provided to our museum and all who use them."
— Caroline Veit
Cheyenne Children's Museum
What it costs a mid-size museum
No quote needed. Here's a 25-exhibit setup, and the number that actually matters at the bottom.
Software
Growth — $39/mo
30 Marker placements, scavenger-hunt check-ins, name and email capture at the door, and exhibit-by-exhibit analytics.
Hardware
$687 one-time
25 NFC + QR exhibit Markers. The first three are an Intro 3-Pack and the rest are $29 each, shipped free. Relink them to a new show each season, and you only buy the Marker once.
What pays for it
One membership
An exit tap that converts a single new membership, or a handful of gift-shop and donation prompts, covers the year. Most museums start with one exhibit.
Want individual visitor profiles for membership follow-up? That's Growth — and CSV export starts on Starter. See full pricing →
Where NearField fits
Museums & Galleries
Curator-led video at every piece. Artist statements. Historical context. Let visitors go deeper without needing a docent.
Historical Sites
Oral histories, virtual reconstructions, detailed timelines. Tell the full story — not just what fits on a plaque.
Zoos & Aquariums
Animal facts, conservation stories, live habitat cameras, and rescue narratives. Turn a visit into a connection.
Theme Parks & Attractions
Ride backstories, show schedules, park trivia, and wayfinding. Reduce staff questions and increase dwell time.
Why NearField for attractions
Reach every guest
Auto-translation in 20 languages plus text-to-speech. School groups, international tourists, visitors with visual impairments — everyone gets the full experience.
Update instantly
Temporary exhibit? Seasonal event? Change the content from your dashboard. The Markers stay — the Experience evolves.
No tech overhead
No IT department needed. No app to maintain. No devices to charge. Place Markers and the system runs itself.
Personalize the visit
NearField Memory blocks capture visitor details and contact info, then carry them across every Experience in your space.
Name Capture at the door
Greet visitors by name at every exhibit. One tap at the ticket desk and every Marker says 'Welcome, Sarah.'
Scavenger hunts
Check-In blocks let visitors mark exhibits as visited. Track progress across the entire space — no paper maps needed.
Exit feedback
A rating block at the final exhibit asks 'How was your visit?' — personalized with the visitor's name.
Build your mailing list at the door
An Email Capture block at the welcome desk collects visitor emails. Follow up after their visit with membership offers, upcoming exhibits, and event invitations.
Every interaction feeds your Audience dashboard. See which exhibits get the most taps, track repeat visitors, and export your data for follow-up campaigns.
From the guides
NFC for small museums and galleries →
How to replace printed labels and audio devices. Covers deployment strategies, language access, the membership angle, and what it costs to get started.
NFC for zoos, aquariums, and nature centers →
Animal profile tiles, conservation stories, feeding schedules, and donation prompts — delivered at the habitat, in any language.
NFC for art galleries →
Artist statements, price, and a path to buy — without reprinting when the show changes. How galleries reuse hardware across rotating exhibitions.
U-pick farm signs →
What's ripe, which rows are open, rain closures and picked-out days change daily. How to put a picking report you edit from your phone behind every u-pick sign.
Conservation donations at the exhibit →
The moment a visitor wants to help is at the habitat, not the exit. How to put the conservation story and a way to give beside the animal, and keep both current.
Botanical garden interpretation →
A plant label holds a name and an accession number. How to put the story, the season and the audio behind it, on a page you edit from your phone.
Museum self-guided tours, no app →
Rented devices, app downloads and faded QR stickers all add friction before a visitor learns anything. How tap-to-read tiles make self-guided tours work.
Museum audio guide alternative →
Audio guide rentals cost thousands to launch and more to maintain. How small and mid-size museums replace them with a tap: no app, no handsets, no IT.
Digital exhibit interpretation →
A label tops out at 100 words. How a digital layer adds audio, 20+ languages and accessibility to every exhibit, updated without reprinting a sign.
Zoo audio guide, no app →
Audio guide apps ask visitors to download, navigate and find the track. A Marker puts the content on the exhibit itself: one tap, 20+ languages, nothing to install.
NFC for aquariums →
Dark halls, humid air, touch tanks and daily feedings: aquarium signage has problems a QR sticker can't solve. How tap-to-open tiles handle all of them.
NFC for farm tours →
Markers at animal pens, crop rows and the barn give visitors the full story at their own pace and in their language, updated when the harvest changes.
Your exhibits already have the stories. NearField gives them a voice.
No credit card required. Free plan includes full builder access.
