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Audiofetch News & Information
Mar 21
1
AudioFetch Blog Header_ADA Compliance

ADA Compliance and Hearing Impairments: Everything Your Business Needs to Know

By | airports, Auction, Business, Casinos, Churches, Education, Government, Hearing Assistance, Hearing Loss, Stadiums, Theater, Tour Guides, Wireless Audio | No Comments

Every public business, organization, or venue should be thinking about how to improve accessibility at their establishment. Not only does it create a more welcoming environment for any and every-one that visits, but it can also be a legal requirement. 

Read on to learn more about how your business can (and must) improve accessibility through ADA compliance and other accessibility-friendly solutions.

What is ADA compliance?

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990. It prohibits discrimination and seeks to improve accessibility at public government entities and privately-owned “places of public accommodation,” and requires employers with 15+ employees to provide reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities.

What are ADA guidelines for hearing impairments?

The ADA requirements for hearing impairments vary by platform, business type, or entity. For example, all airlines within and into the United States must accommodate hearing loss, according to the Air Carriers Access Act (ACAA), which is typically accomplished by adding captions to airport TVs. 
 
Other public venues must provide assistive listening devices (ALDs) in each assembly area where audible communication is integral to the use of the space. These venues include movie theaters, concert and lecture halls, schools, museums, hospitals, stadiums and arenas, courtrooms, conference rooms, convention centers, nursing homes, community centers, and the list goes on and on. 
 
If your venue provides fixed seating (e.g., theater or stadium) for 50 or more people, ADA compliant receivers must be available for a percentage of seating capacity. Originally it was 4% of capacity, but that figure was updated in 2010 to give larger venues a bit of a break with a scaled quantity. Additionally, at least 25% or a minimum of two receivers must be hearing-aid compatible.

What is an ADA-compliant device?

ADA compliant products for hard-of-hearing individuals include assistive listening systems (ALS) or assistive listening devices (ALDs). An assistive listening system is defined as an amplification system utilizing transmitters, receivers, and coupling devices to bypass the acoustical space between a sound source and a listener by means of induction loop, radio frequency, infrared, direct-wired equipment or wireless connection.

Who enforces ADA compliance?

Several agencies play a role in enforcing or investigating ADA compliance claims, including The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Labor, and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (ATBCB).

What are the consequences of not following the ADA guidelines?

Failing to comply with ADA guidelines can result in both financial and reputation repercussions. 
 
On a purely financial basis, your business or organization can be fined by the federal government up to $75,000 for the first violation and $150,000 for additional ADA violations, and state or local governments may tack on additional fines. Additionally, you open yourself up to lawsuits, personal injury claims, and legal or civil penalties from disabled individuals with legitimate complaints or ambulance-chasing entities looking to make an easy buck. 
 
From a reputation perspective, your brand name can also be dragged through the mud for non-compliance, which can also severely affect your business financially in both the short and long term.

What businesses or organizations are exempt from ADA compliance?

The ADA does not apply to places of worship, religious organizations/schools, private clubs, or any other venue historically excluded from federal civil rights laws. However, many of these organizations decide to provide some type of assistive listening option to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment for all of their members and patrons. 
 
Learn more about our assistive listening solutions for churches and houses of worship.

Does AudioFetch work with ADA-compliant receivers?

Yes, AudioFetch is compatible with ADA-compliant receivers. AudioFetch can be used to broadcast the audio source live, and then businesses can use a regulation ADA-compliant device to receive that audio. 
 
AudioFetch also integrates seamlessly with hearing aids; listeners connect the hearing aid to their smartphone via Bluetooth and are able to listen in real-time.

AudioFetch works with businesses and organizations of all sizes to help you create a more accessible and welcoming environment for your guests, customers, and employees. If you’re ready to get started, contact us or schedule an appointment to learn more and request a free demo. 

Mar 08
0
AudioFetch Blog Header_Audio Over WiFi at Business Office

How Audio Over WiFi Benefits Your Business Office or Corporate HQ

By | Business, Fitness Centers, Hearing Assistance, Tour Guides, Wireless Audio | No Comments

After working from home for two years, it can be difficult to get employees back into the office. The convenience and comfort of working from home can oftentimes outweigh the collaboration and communication that comes with being together in one space. And while some companies have vowed to go full-time or remote first, such as Google, Shopify, Quora, US Xpress, Pratt & Whitney, many others are eager to have their staff back in the office environment on a daily basis. 

To encourage staff to willingly and enthusiastically come back, these in-person-ready companies are looking for ways to make the experience more enjoyable, more efficient and safer for everyone. One unique way they can do this is by utilizing a wireless audio streaming system. 

Below are five ways that corporate HQs and business offices can use audio over WiFi to improve employee satisfaction and productivity: 

1. Employee Training Solution

Training is essential to ensuring your employees are prepared to complete their work in the most effective, efficient, and responsible ways. But if they’re unable to hear or understand the training material, they’ll never be able to perform their job responsibilities to the fullest potential. AudioFetch can be used as an assistive listening solution or live translation system to help your staff learn and comprehend better, leading to better job performance.

Scott M from the US Playing Card Company has found AudioFetch to be particularly useful for their employee training: “We used the tour pack [AudioFetch Express for tour application] and it made a world of difference on the training session. Thank you!!”

2. Fitness TV Audio System

Many corporate headquarters and larger businesses offer a gym or fitness center that their employees can access at any time. Our audio over WiFi system is a perfect solution for allowing staff to stream gym TV audio to their phones. They don’t have to be tethered to any one piece of cardio equipment; rather, they can move around freely throughout the fitness space and use several machines, all while enjoying (and getting distracted by!) the news, a game, a TV show, or anything else playing in the facility. 

3. Wireless Factory Tour Guide System

During tours of factory floors, where conditions can be dangerous and safety is of the utmost importance, it’s imperative that all participants can hear the tour guide clearly. But churning machinery, beeping vehicles, whirring fans, and other loud sounds can easily drown out the audio and potentially put participants at risk and workers at risk. 

Our portable tour guide system is an ideal solution, and a great replacement for outdated, unhygienic, and expensive listening devices you may already be using. Tour groups use their own personal smartphones to listen with the AudioFetch app, eliminating the need to purchase, keep track of, maintain and sanitize numerous devices. The app is simple and intuitive for users of any age or expertise, plus it’s free to download with no monthly fees for your business. 

4. Controlled Music System

Did you know that music can increase your employees’ productivity?! It’s true. Especially for those staff whose tasks are clearly defined and repeated often, such as factory or warehouse workers. Music improves mood, increases concentration, reduces stress, and increases work speed. 

AudioFetch can be used to provide multiple music channels to your team to reap these benefits and more. Select channels can be programmed, offering options for varying musical tastes and work styles, while limiting employees’ ability to access the internet and thus get distracted. All employees have to do is download the free AudioFetch app, select their channel of choice, and start listening. 

5. Emergency Notification Solution

Quick action and widespread communication is required during an office fire or other emergency situation. Audio Over WiFi technology can be used to stream emergency instructions to employees on multiple floors and throughout thousands of square footage, allowing your staff to mobilize quickly and efficiently.

Helping your employees, clients and visitors hear better without distractions or distracting others can increase productivity and enhance the office space, making it a more desirable environment to return to. If you’re ready to get started, contact us or schedule an appointment to learn more and request a free demo. 

Nov 16
0
AudioFetch Blog Header - Wireless Tour Guide

Wireless Tour Guide: 4 Travel & Tourism Customers Using AudioFetch

By | Tour Guides | No Comments

A wireless tour guide system allows the tour guide to broadcast their voice to the tour group wirelessly. Older systems typically contain a tour headset and several individual devices for each tour group member.  The guide speaks into the headset, which then transmits audio to the devices so that everyone in the group can hear. 

Newer, more modern systems like AudioFetch allow tour group members to listen via their smartphones and personal headphones. This option is more convenient, more affordable, and more hygienic, a benefit that is extremely important in today’s environment.  

Following are four companies that are using AudioFetch as a wireless tour guide system:

Tallink Ferry Company

Tallink Ferry Line - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi
Source: Tallink Facebook Page

Tallink Ferry Company is the leading provider of high-quality mini-cruise and passenger transport services in the northern Baltic Sea region. Routes for Tallink are between Estonia and Finland, Estonia and Sweden, Finland and Sweden, and Latvia and Sweden. 

Tallink is using AudioFetch to allow passengers to listen to music while aboard their ships. We know that all passengers are enjoying the entertainment option now available, and look forward to traveling to Estonia for our own sea-faring expedition! 

US Playing Card Company

You may not know it, but you’re surely familiar with the US Playing Card Company (USPC). In fact, you probably grew up on their brands and have some of their products in your house right now. USPC has been designing and manufacturing quality playing cards since 1867 under the brands Bicycle®, Bee®, Tally-Ho®, Aviator®, Streamline®, Maverick®, Po-Ke-No®, Kem®, and Hoyle®. 

USPC Bicycle Cards - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi
Source: USPC website

USPC has recently begun using the AudioFetch Express tour application for training purposes, and the feedback has been outstanding. USPC’s Scott M. said, “We used the tour pack and it made a world of difference on the training session. Thank you!!” (That’s with two, count ‘em, two exclamation points!!)

It’s an honor to work with USPC and from everyone at AudioFetch, we want to thank you for bringing a fun and competitive element to all of our family and friend gatherings! Now, who’s up for some Euchre?!

The Center for Mindful Living

Center for Mindful LIving - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi
Source: The Center for Mindful Living Facebook Page

The Center for Mindful Living is a group of independent practicing professionals who believe in the transformative power of mindfulness and creativity. These professionals come together in the middle of Omaha to create an Urban Sanctuary, offering traditional psychotherapy, creative art therapies, somatic education, workshops, classes, study groups, and a variety of contemplative practices that help to develop and deepen mindfulness skills. 

These have always been important skills to hone. But after the last two years, we’re all recognizing the importance of practicing self-reflection and self-care to cultivate whole health, including both body and mind. We’re so pleased to work with such an honorable organization.

Mysteries of Hawaii

Mysteries of Hawaii 1 - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi
Source: Mysteries of Hawaii Facebook page

Mysteries of Hawaii offers ghost tour experiences on Ohau. Lopaka Kapanui (a.k.a., “The Ghose Guy”) is the tour guide, a native Hawaiian storyteller, author, actor, kumu hula, cultural practitioner, and former wrestler. He leads guests into some of the darkest and spookiest places on the island of Oahu, providing knowledge of not only the paranormal but also the history and legends of Oahu and Hawaii. 

Mysteries of Hawaii is using AudioFetch during their various walking tours, including Urban Legends & Ghost Tours, Waikiki Night Marchers  Tour, Ghosts of Old Honolulu Tour, Waikiki Sacred Sands Tour, and Haunted Honolulu Ghost Tour. 

Estonia, Oahu – our wanderlust is surging just thinking of all the fantastic customers and locations we need to visit! How do we choose which to travel to first?! 

If you’re looking for an effective and cost-efficient tour guide audio system, AudioFetch is the ideal solution! Contact us by calling 844-HI-FETCH or scheduling an appointment to discuss your travel and tour application and get a quote. 

Mar 30
0
AudioFetch Blog Header - Global Audio Over WiFi Solutions

AudioFetch Provides Better Hearing in 23 Countries

By | AudioFetch News, Hearing Assistance | No Comments

We started AudioFetch with one goal in mind–to help people hear better. 

Having worked in the fitness industry for several years through our sister companies Broadcastvision Entertainment and Waio, Inc., we saw an opportunity to build a platform that would empower anyone with a smartphone to hear what they were watching in real-time, no matter the location. 

And now, nearly two decades later, those locations can be found in 23 countries around the world!
In addition to the hundreds of businesses in the United States, we ship to and support businesses in Australia, Norway, Europe and the United Kingdom, South Africa, Brazil, Italy, Singapore, France and many more! Check out the map below to see where AudioFetch is being used.

We’ve been honored to provide hearing assistance and audio entertainment options to all different types of businesses and organizations. Fitness centers, houses of worship, museums, farms, drive-in movie theaters, amusement parks, warehouses, hospitals, airports, universities and K-12 schools, sports bars, railroad tours, casinos and resorts, apartment complexes, country clubs, retirement communities, local news stations, film festivals–we could write three more paragraphs listing the various types of businesses and organizations that are leveraging AudioFetch! That’s because our wireless audio streaming technology is so flexible, efficient and affordable, and because every venue wants their guests to have a better experience.

If you’d like to know if AudioFetch supports your type of business or location, well, the answer is almost always YES! Contact us today or schedule an appointment to discuss your application.

Please note: While many of our customers are public venues, we also work with private businesses to provide services for their internal staff. If you’d like to test our AudioFetch technology in the wild, please be sure to check that the business is a public venue before visiting.

Mar 15
0
AudioFetch Blog Headers - Hearing Impaired Accessibility

How AudioFetch Creates a Welcoming Environment with Assistive Listening Solutions

By | Hearing Assistance | No Comments

Whether you’re a restaurant serving food to guests, a travel group providing tours, a church serving your members, or an organization hosting an event, you have one universal goal in mind–you want every person to have a positive experience so they’ll come back again and/or tell their friends about it. 

Businesses and organizations go to great lengths to provide this positive experience, but there’s one area they often overlook–accessibility. 

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), some 38 million American adults over the age of 18 report some trouble hearing. That’s approximately 15% of people that could be struggling to hear when they’re at your establishment. 

You can make your establishment more accessible to those with hearing impairments by using our next-gen assistive listening solutions. Following are three ways AudioFetch can help your business or organization create a more welcoming environment for customers and guests:

1. No Hearing Aids Required

Lots of people don’t wear hearing aids when they need them. In fact, according to the  International Journal of Audiology, a whopping 80% of 55-74 year olds 55-74 don’t. That’s a lot of people who’ve made a conscious decision to go without a device that could benefit their lives. 

Why would they do such a thing, you ask? Well, there are numerous reasons people don’t wear hearing aids when they should. For some, they find hearing aids bulky or uncomfortable. For others, it makes them feel old or embarrassed. And for still more, they simply forget to bring it out with them. Whatever the reasons, not wearing a hearing aid when someone needs one can leave them feeling left out and isolated, a negative experience you don’t want them to have at your business.

Our assistive listening solutions eliminate all of those reasons. All the listener needs is their smartphone (which we all know no one ever forgets to bring out!) and headphones. 

2. No Asking to Use a Shared Device

Even when an establishment provides assistive listening devices, people oftentimes won’t ask for one. Again, the reasons here can be myriad–they don’t want to call attention to themselves and their hearing loss, they don’t know the devices are available, or, more common these days, they don’t want to use a device that may have been touched by others. 

AudioFetch solves this problem. Since listeners use their own smartphone and headphones to hear the audio, they don’t need to ask for or handle any additional devices. AudioFetch is ideal as an assistive listening system for churches, theaters, and schools and educational facilities. Travel and tourism businesses also benefit from replacing their shared hearing devices with our wireless tour guide system.

3. No Tech Skills Needed

If you know how to download and open an app, you know how to use AudioFetch. 

Listeners simply search for AudioFetch in the app store (or scan the QR code on signage we provide), download the app, and then open it. If there’s only a single audio channel, they’ll hear it immediately. If there are multiple channels, they simply select the one they want (which is easy to determine with the signage we also provide!) and listen in. 

Listeners will never be asked to enter any personal information. They’ll never be asked to create an account. They’ll never be asked to do anything but sit back and enjoy the sound! 

At AudioFetch, we’re devoted to helping people with hearing loss or impairment stay connected with the world around them, and helping businesses create a more welcoming environment for these individuals.  If you have questions about how AudioFetch can be used for assistive listening at your establishment, do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to helping your business create a more welcoming environment for everyone. 

Jan 11
0
AudioFetch On-Demand Product Overview Webinar

AudioFetch On-Demand Product Overview Webinar

By | Business | No Comments

Want to better understand the features and benefits of wireless audio streaming for your business? Unsure which AudioFetch solution is right for you? Then you need to check out our Product Overview webinar.

AudioFetch Webinar Thumbnail - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi

In this brief webinar video, AudioFetch CEO Tim Depumpo walks you through the numerous features and benefits of our technology and discusses how various businesses are using AudioFetch to improve guest experience. Tim also talks about each of the AudioFetch wireless audio streaming solutions in detail, pointing out the unique capabilities and which businesses and organizations find them most useful.

Click the link below to access the video and learn more about our commercial wireless audio streaming solutions.

Watch the On-Demand Webinar

If you have specific questions or are ready to get started now, call us at 1-844-HI-FETCH (1-844-443-3824) or schedule an appointment with our team.

Aug 18
0
AudioFetch Blog Header - Social Distance Tour

6 Types of Social Distancing Tours

By | Tour Guides, Travel | No Comments

After being locked indoors for several months, staring at screens for entertainment, people are itching to get out of the house and experience something in real life. Yet, travelers are still concerned about their health and safety. While some people are venturing out in wider areas, they remain cautious of the places they’re visiting and the people they’re interacting with. 

To help assuage travelers’ safety concerns and provide the necessary precautions, travel and tourism brands are leveraging our AudioFetch wireless audio streaming technology. 

AudioFetch helps create extra space for social distancing by allowing attendees to hear the guide via their smartphone, rather than crowding around in a group. And since they’re using their own smartphone, not a device provided to them by the tour, it limits the number of surfaces that individuals come into contact with (and limits the items the tour company has to sanitize after each tour!). 

Since lockdown restrictions began lifting earlier this summer, we’ve worked with numerous travel and tourism brands to help them create social distance tours. Some of the unique uses we’ve found are:

Factory Tours

Whether they’re for educational, entertainment or inspection purposes, factory tours can be made safer and more enjoyable with a wireless tour guide system. Not only does the system eliminate the need to provide devices that must be sanitized, it allows all attendees to remain six feet apart and still hear the tour guide. 

City Tours

Even traveling down the street can seem like a major adventure these days. And that’s why local city tours have been a hot trend this summer. Tours Accolde is using AudioFetch to provide guided walking tours in Quebec City and Lévis, Canada, showing off the local history, architecture, culture and lifestyle. 

Brewery Tours

This is a big one in our home state of Colorado! Breweries big and small run tours of their facilities for a sneak peek into the machinery and processes required for a perfect pint. Just like factories, breweries can be loud places that make it difficult for tour guides to hear and be heard. Our technology allows anyone with a smartphone to hear, AND to maintain a safe social distance. 

Garden Tours

Outdoor destinations have been deemed a safer alternative to indoor destinations, and many travel spots are beefing up their outdoor garden tours to provide this option. Whether it’s botanic gardens that are limiting tours to only their outdoor attractions, or indoor tours that are making the typically overlooked garden portion the main event. 

Architecture Tours

New River Architecture offers waterway cruises using electric-powered boats to guide visitors through the architecture and landscape of Fort Lauderdale, the “Venice of America.” Using AudioFetch and the open air venue, New River Architecture will provide a safer alternative to indoor tours. 

College Campus Tours

Prospective students and freshmen are typically treated to a campus-wide tour of all the new facilities they can visit. These tours can still take place by using wireless tour guide technology that permits people to keep a safe distance, while still hearing the every word the tour guide says. 

If you have questions about how AudioFetch allows you to run tours more responsibly with our tour guide system app, people do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to helping you get your tour business back up and running, and doing so in the safest way possible.

May 20
0
AudioFetch Blog Header - Socially Distant Tours

How to Run Socially-Distant Tours with AudioFetch

By | Tour Guides, Travel | No Comments

Every industry has taken a major hit over the past two months, and that’s especially true for travel and tourism. With shelter in place orders across the globe, tours were brought to a standstill with few, if any, options for driving revenue. 

Now, as quarantine orders are being lifted, tour companies are eager to resume their unique tour experiences and begin generating revenue again. Yet, there are precautions they must now take to ensure the safety of both the tour group members and their staff. 

Requiring everyone to wear masks is a prerequisite. Limiting the number of people in any single tour group is wise. Modifying tour sites and attractions to avoid crowded areas should be considered. But how can people hear the tour guide when everyone must stand at least six feet away? 

Our AudioFetch technology is the perfect solution! Using our FetchExpress portable audio streaming device, tour guides can broadcast their voice to anyone within 300 feet in any direction. This allows for ample distance between tour group attendees, and provides your business with a responsible and marketable advantage. 

How Does AudioFetch Make Tours Safer

Our FetchExpress solution is lightweight, portable and has built-in Wi-Fi, turning the tour guide into a walking hotspot for listeners. Installing and using FetchExpress is incredibly simple, and requires just a few steps:

  1. Install FetchExpress – Turn on the FetchExpress and plug in the microphone. Seriously, it’s that easy!
  2. Download AudioFetch App – Tour members download the free AudioFetch App to their smartphone or tablet, connect to the FetchExpress Wi-Fi network, and launch the app.
  3. Ensure a Safe Distance – Make sure the tour guide and members are standing at least six feet apart and maintain this distance if it’s a walking tour or there’s any movement required during the tour. 
  4. Start the Tour – The tour guide speaks into the microphone and members listen via the app. 

For more stationary tours, or so that entire families can hear together, a bluetooth speaker can be paired with the phone or tablet to extend the audio. 

We also include a free wireless tour guide accessories kit with each purchase, freeing up the tour guide’s hands to point out important sights and ensuring they don’t run out of juice on longer tours. The accessories kit includes a hip pack, a headset microphone, a USB battery, and a battery charger cable. 

As the travel and tour industry begins to reopen, it’s important to take the necessary precautions to protect everyone involved. It’s also important that potential customers know about the measures you’re taking, and feel confident that their health and safety will not be jeopardized during their experience with your tour business.

If you have questions about how AudioFetch allows you to run tours more responsibly with our tour guide system app and WiFi audio stream, do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to helping you get your tour business back up and running, and doing so in the safest way possible.

Jul 08
0
eliott reyna jCEpN62oWL4 unsplash scaled - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi

How to Enhance College Tours for Gen Z

By | Education, Tour Guides | No Comments

Every summer, many colleges and universities experience an influx of potential students who want to know what makes one institution stand out from the rest. Leaving home for college is an exciting step toward adulthood which involves many stressful unknowns, and even the most confident student might find themselves feeling anxiety. Not only does your college tour need to help ease this nervousness, but it also needs to effectively showcase your school as the best choice, but the incoming generation of students isn’t quite like years past: This is Gen Z.

All students want to learn the history of the school, the locations of the various departments on campus (particularly the one for their major), the location of the dorms and student union. Additionally, showing prospective students the beauty of the campus, the art work, the quiet places to study and the loud places to make friends are all great ways to show why your school is special. 

While they can learn more of this online, Gen Z students prefer in-person experiences over digital. This is why your tour needs to present what makes your school special in the ways that interest them. Gen Z students aren’t as interested in making money like previous generations, they are interested in making a difference:

Not only will a college need to show off the school, but it will also need to align with its new student’s desire to improve the world and affect positive change. Once your tour is catered especially for Gen Z students, it’s important that it be heard clearly – because Gen Z is also the listening generation. Since 98% of Gen Z own a smartphone, a WiFi audio streaming solution that transmits audio directly to their smartphones is a cost effective way to ensure they hear every word of your college tour. 

If you’d like to learn more about how AudioFetch can help improve your campus tours with a wireless tour guide system or education sound system, contact us today.  

Jun 20
0
ksenia makagonova 258819 unsplash scaled - AudioFetch Audio Over WiFi

3 Fun Ways to Enjoy the Summer!

By | Tour Guides, Churches, Education, General, Hearing Assistance, Music, streaming, Theater | No Comments

Summer is finally here, with its long days that stretch into evening, allowing more time to enjoy life outside, more fun with friends, more time for playing sports. Being outside has amazing benefits as well. Just being outside can lower blood pressure, fight depression and improve memory.  Natural sunlight helps mitigate pain and boost the immune system, plus being outdoors enhances creativity, improves vision, and there’s all that natural aromatherapy.  And it’s all natural. Here are 3 fun ways to be outside and spend time with loved ones (and maybe even learn something):

Outdoor Theater

Attending an outdoor theater production with a picnic is not only healthy for the body because you’re outdoors, but healthy for the mind and spirit too. “Theater is one of the higher cultural activities that mark us as imaginative, creative and truly human,” says Dr. Glenn D Wilson. If the performance includes comedy, all the better. The Mayo Clinic explains that laughter is great for relieving stress and stimulating organs. In the short term, giggling causes a boost in endorphins, the brain’s feel-good chemicals.

Of course, if you don’t arrive early enough to get a seat close to the stage, it may be difficult to hear the actors. Children playing, conversations nearby, traffic, or people walking around can distract from hearing the play. Look for outdoor theaters that offer audio over WiFi streaming so you can be sure to hear every word of the production or even listen to audio translated, if the venue offers live translation.

Walking Tours

Many cities, and even small towns, offer informative and fun walking tours that could help you learn more about the place you are visiting or even your hometown.  Or why not create your own walking tour and invite your friends and family?  Or have your children do it and get an entirely different perspective? They can visit the local history museum and ask the research librarian to help them, or better yet, visit a nursing home and get first-hand stories about locations around town. Intergenerational activity is a great way for parents to help their kids connect with older generations. The children will be so proud to inform everyone about the town and community.  

Of course, if you create your own local walking tour, you might get a crowd and you’ll want to make sure that they can all hear you. A wireless tour guide system is a simple solution to transmit your tour audio directly to your participants’ devices.

Movies Under the Stars

Drive-ins used to be common in cities and even small towns, but now there are only a handful left anywhere. However, with a wireless audio streaming solution that can be easily connected to a projector, it’s easy to make your own outdoor theater. The only other thing you’ll need is a blank white wall (or simply tack up a white sheet).  And, of course, a movie.

You can make it a private event, or if you screen your movie on the side of a building, your outdoor movie screening can become a fun community-building event. The best part is that with an audio streaming solution that transmits audio directly to users’ mobile devices, you’ll never have to worry about disturbing your neighbors!

No matter what you do this summer, we hope you will be sure to gain the benefits of being outdoors. Let us know if we can help make your summer even better by contacting us.