Mary, Queen of Scots Visitor Centre: the Audiopen, an innovation for an interactive, multilingual experience

The Mary, Queen of Scots Visitor Centre, set in the heart of Scotland's historic landscape, is an essential place to discover the life and legacy of one of the most fascinating figures in Scottish history. Like many historic sites, it faced a major challenge: making its historical content accessible, engaging and educational for a diverse audience, from families to students to history enthusiasts.

A historic challenge: making history accessible and engaging

The story of Mary Stuart is complex, and the challenge was to make it accessible, especially for young visitors or those coming from abroad. With 45% of visitors arriving from overseas, it had become imperative to offer an interactive, multilingual tool capable of engaging an international audience, while providing rich, educational and entertaining content that everyone could explore at their own pace.

The solution: the Audiopen, an interactive, adaptive audio guide

The Audiopen is a smart optical pen designed to interact with printed materials. By pointing it at marked areas (images, texts, icons) on maps, labels or exhibition panels, visitors trigger audio commentary detailing the story of Mary Stuart and access additional information linked to specific parts of the exhibition.

The system was designed to be adaptable, with a wide range of themed routes: quizzes for children, discovery trails, musical tours and town tours. Each visitor can thus choose the route that matches their interests.

An engaging, accessible experience

The introduction of the Audiopen transformed the visitor experience. This interactive audio guide made visits more engaging, particularly for younger audiences, by offering a fun and interactive way to discover history. Visitor feedback has been very positive, highlighting the immersion and the ability to tailor the visit to their needs and preferences. The technology has also reduced the maintenance costs of traditional audio guides.

Multilingual tours for an international audience

The Audiopen is available in English, French, German and Spanish, allowing every visitor to enjoy the experience to the full, whatever their mother tongue. This multilingualism has been a key factor in increasing the site's accessibility and appeal to tourists from around the world.

Sycomore, a partner in modernizing the visitor experience

To make this multilingual experience possible, the centre collaborated with Sycomore, which developed the audio content with native narrators and professional studios, guaranteeing optimal sound quality and a faithful translation of Mary Stuart's story in every language.

The adoption of the Audiopen demonstrates the site's commitment to reinventing its visitor experience while preserving history: an innovation that improves accessibility and engagement, and paves the way for a new standard in interactive cultural visits.