Individual Audio Tours
In 1958 the National Gallery of Art became the first art museum in the United States to offer individual audio tours to the public when it implemented the innovative LecTour system after years of trials. For 25 cents, visitors could borrow a small radio receiver and an earphone mounted in a small disposable cardboard box. Continuous radio signals were picked up by antennas in the gallery floorboards. Now, thanks to new technologies, visitors can use hand-held digital audio players to create their own customized tours through the museum's exhibition rooms.