Museum Exhibition Guide App "Pocket Curator" Introduced at Aichi Asahi Ruins Museum

We are pleased to announce today that the service of "Pocket Curator," a free guide app for museums that allows visitors to enjoy exhibition explanations using their smartphones (developed by Waseda System Development Co., Ltd., Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo), will commence operation at the Aichi Asahi Ruins Museum (Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture) from April 30, Reiwa 8 (2026).

Background of Introduction

The Asahi Ruins Museum, which attracts visitors with diverse expressions such as dioramas and videos, in addition to exhibitions of important cultural properties like earthenware and bronze bells, minimizes the display of explanations within the exhibition rooms to allow visitors to concentrate on appreciating the artifacts even in limited spaces. While this consideration is well-received, there have also been requests such as "I want to know a little more about the artifacts," posing a challenge of how to respond to diverse visitor needs.

Reasons for Selecting Pocket Curator

"Pocket Curator," an ancillary app to the cloud-based collection management system "I.B.MUSEUM SaaS," allows museums to deploy exhibition guide services without introducing dedicated equipment and without incurring additional costs for system users. In addition to expanding information provision while adhering to the aforementioned exhibition policy, the ease of updating distributed content was also highly evaluated, leading to its introduction.

Features of Distributed Content

Upon the introduction of exhibition guides utilizing "Pocket Curator," corner explanations will first be distributed in the museum's "Basic Exhibition Room." Currently, photos and text are available, but the policy is to focus on explanations for individual exhibits in the future, expanding to more diverse services such as audio guides.

About Aichi Asahi Ruins Museum

The Aichi Asahi Ruins Museum, which opened in November 2020, is an experiential archaeological museum that conveys the full scope and charm of the Asahi Ruins, one of the largest Yayoi period settlements in the Tokai region, spanning from Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture, to Nishi-ku, Nagoya City. It features exhibitions of valuable excavated artifacts, primarily important cultural properties, from long-term archaeological surveys, recreates the life of the settlement at that time with videos and elaborate diorama models, and hosts themed special exhibitions and diverse workshops. It is a popular museum where visitors can experience and learn about Yayoi period life and technology.

Overview of Pocket Curator

"Pocket Curator" is a guide app that allows visitors to view and listen to exhibition explanations using their smartphones. A distinctive feature is that one app can be shared by multiple museums; once installed on a smartphone, exhibition guides can be used at service-providing facilities nationwide.

The guide content adopts a mechanism where each museum and art gallery independently devises and produces it. Information is distributed in various styles, including not only text screens but also photos, videos, and audio, depending on the facility.

App Homepage: http://welcome.mapps.ne.jp/pocket

App Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pocketcurator/?fref=ts

<Museums currently offering and planning to offer services as of April 1, 2026>

Hokkaido Museum / Historical Village of Hokkaido / Hokkaido Migeishi Kotaro Museum of Art / Date History and Culture Museum / Nakajima Lake Forest Museum / Ainu Culture Exchange Center (Sapporo Pirikakotane) / Toya Caldera and Usu Volcano Global Geopark / Toyako Gurutto Sculpture Park / Irie-Takasago Shell Mounds Historic Site / Irie-Takasago Shell Mounds Museum / Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art / Kitakogane Shell Mounds Historic Site Park / Sapporo Art Park Museum / Sapporo Art Park Outdoor Museum / Shari Town Tsugaru Clan Cultural Property Relations / Shiretoko Museum / Hokkaido Kushiro Art Museum / Toyako Art Museum / Hachinohe City Buried Cultural Property Center Korekawa Jomon Museum / Hachinohe City Museum / Nejo Castle Ruins Park / Ichinoseki City Museum / Iwate Prefectural Museum / Hanamaki City Museum / Kitakami City Oni no Yakata / Sendai City Museum / Ishinomaki City Museum / Tohoku History Museum / Warabe no Sato Museum of History and Culture / Oyama Chusaku Museum of Art / Morohashi Museum of Modern Art / Iwaki Disaster Memorial and Future Museum / Ibaraki Museum of Modern Art / Museum Park Ibaraki Nature Museum / Yokaren Peace Memorial Museum / Tokugawa Museum / Museum of History and Future Exchange / Gunma Prefectural Tsuchiya Bunmei Memorial Literature Museum / Hanno City Museum Kittosu / Toda City Local Museum / Railway Museum (Saitama City) / Mikashima Yoshiko Archives (Tokorozawa City) / Gyoda City Local Museum / Iruma City Museum ALIT / Former Ishikawa Paper Mill Western-style Building / Former Kurosu Bank / Rekishiterasu (Niiza City History and Folklore Museum) / Mint Saitama Museum / Saitama Prefectural Museum of Modern Art / Saitama City Iwatsuki Doll Museum / Urayasu City Local Museum / Shinjuku Ward Fumiko Hayashi Memorial Museum / Setagaya Ward Jidaibori Park Open-Air Museum / Shinjuku Ward Soseki Sambo Memorial Museum / Showa Women's University Koha Museum / Parthenon Tama Museum / Kunitachi Local Culture Center / National Printing Bureau Banknote and Stamp Museum / Keio University / Shinjuku Historical Museum / Hachioji Silk Road Museum / Kagawa Toyohiko Memorial Matsuzawa Museum / Fussa City Local History Room / Kita Ward Asukayama Museum / Sodo Japan Heritage