Mobile App Development

In 2010, BPOC launched two mobile projects in the park: the Balboa Park iPhone application and the Giskin Anomaly cell phone adventure. In 2011, Balboa Park joined the Meridian platform for Android and iOS devices.

Balboa Park iPhone Application

In July 2010, BPOC released an iPhone application for Balboa Park. Designed to make it quicker and easier for visitors to learn about cultural events and activities happening in Balboa Park during their stay, the application features a daily event calendar and listings for all of the park’s museums, gardens, restaurants, trails, and other attractions. It also features a Google Map and Bookmarking tools. About 30,000 people downloaded the application in the first year, it is maintaining an average of 500-600 downloads per week, and it currently has a 4-star rating in Apple’s App Store.

“This is BY FAR the best designed app I have ever seen in this category. It is impeccably put together, with obvious attention to detail, whether it be technical, organization, navigation, art and fonts, etc. One can tell it was checked over with a fine-toothed comb before it was released, which is unfortunately a rarity.” – Comment on the Balboa Park Beat blog (11/19/2010)

Balboa Park on Meridian

While we had a great response to our first iPhone app, we knew we weren’t meeting all the needs of our visitors. We then wanted to focus on two objectives:

Provide a product for the increasing audience of Android users. Over one year, we saw the share of mobile traffic to Balboapark.org from Android devices grow by more than 25%.
Provide better navigation tools. While our first app had a detailed Google map, people were still having trouble finding the quickest routes to their destinations.

In 2011, we began working with the Meridian Apps team—the same developers that helped us launch our first iPhone app—to build a multi-platform Balboa Park guide for both iOS and Android devices. Our content would be integrated into the Meridian platform, which already had guides to other destinations such as the Portland Art Museum and had a strong emphasis on turn-by-turn navigation. By joining this common platform instead of branding our own app, we would also minimize our expenses while enjoying this advanced functionality and other features that the Meridian team would continue to add.

Now, if you want to find your way from the San Diego Air & Space Museum to the San Diego Zoo, or from the Prado Restaurant to the Museum of Man, you can find your way, step-by-step. The Meridian app is available for free through the Android Market and the App Store.

Giskin Anomaly

In November 2010, BPOC launched a park wide cell phone adventure called “Giskin Anomaly.” The adventure leads visitors to colorful stakes placed in different parts of the 1,200-acre park, introducing the visitors to parts of the park that they might not have known about before playing the game. Through the historical narrative, participants also learn about the state of Balboa Park and San Diego during the World War II era. In less than two months, more than 3,000 calls have been made to play the adventure.

“A new way to see the park takes one back in time while testing one’s detective skills in a cell-phone adventure game that’s part scavenger hunt, part information, part half-hour easy walk and wholly entertaining.” – San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board (12/4/2010)