Te Puia | NZMACI go mobile

For Immediate Release

5 November, 2013

Te Puia|NZMACI go mobile

Te Puia|NZMACI’s Pikirangi Māori Village, as seen on the STQRY smartphone application

Te Puia|New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI) have just gone mobile with the introduction of an innovative smartphone application STQRY (pronounced “story”) at the visitor attraction.

Visitors can download the free app for iPhone and Android and then scan the STQRY QR codes to receive information snapshots and extra multimedia experiences about key Te Puia attractions such as Rotowhio Marae, Pikirangi Māori Village, the Kiwi House, the National Carving School (Te Wānanga Whakairo) and the world-famous Pohutu Geyser. The app also has search functionality.

Te Puia General Manager Sales and Marketing, Kiri Atkinson-Crean, says visitors can use STQRY to explore, save and share stories, with the content automatically translated into their respective native language.

“STQRY automatically translates content to the language native to the person’s phone. With more than 60 languages covered, it means the app will have broad access and appeal for our manuhiri (visitors),” says Ms Atkinson-Crean.

“STQRY is a powerful visitor engagement tool that provides a smooth and engaging user experience for our manuhiri to connect more deeply with our stories and unlock multimedia content that adds fun and value.”

Te Puia|NZMACI is the first visitor attraction in the Rotorua region to adopt the new technology – a move that is particularly significant for an attraction that has such a longstanding heritage.

“The introduction of the STQRY app is a great example of how a cultural attraction like Te Puia|NZMACI can adapt and evolve to meet the changing environment. It’s important that we provide different technology options like this, as more people move to mobile phones and tablets for their primary access to the internet,” says Ms Atkinson-Crean.

“Over the coming months we will be encouraging manuhiri to download the free app and gain an even deeper understanding of what Te Puia|NZMACI has to offer.”

The introduction of STQRY coincides with the 50th anniversary celebrations of Te Puia|NZMACI’s establishment under an Act of Parliament, tying in with the theme of the celebrations – the joining of the past with the present. Originally legislated in 1926, NZMACI’s mandated cultural interests were combined with tourism in Rotorua’s Te Whakarewarewa Valley following the broadening of the Act in 1963.

ENDS

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