Morton Arboretum

The Opportunity

The Morton Arboretum sought a versatile mobile app for connecting visitors and members with the rich offerings of this 1,700-acre living museum.

“The idea is to encourage visitors to experience the Arboretum’s favorite places - to see more, learn more, engage more, and, thanks to gamification technology, even be rewarded for doing so,” said Kevin Leonard, Associations & Non-Profit Engagement Manager at BT.

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The Solution

Key to BT's development of this app is technology that allows it to be updated through the Morton Arboretum’s open-source Drupal Content Management System, which also powers their website. This innovation allows for easy enhancement of the full range of Arboretum information so it can be changed season by season.

Highlighting various sites along the Arboretum’s 16 miles of hiking trails and its award-winning Children’s Garden, the app offers different tour experiences, from fun, educational spots for families and kids to an excursion designed for birding enthusiasts. Gamification technology allows visitors to unlock achievements by completing tours. All the maps in the app are location aware, so users know their exact whereabouts within the Arboretum at any time.

BT's innovative approach of using open-source Drupal as the content management system to drive a Drupal mobile app is a relatively new concept - one that gives the Arboretum enormous flexibility in the way that they evolve the app to meet and anticipate the needs of members and visitors.