INCREASING SCIENCE EDUCATION IN NATIONAL PARKS: A NEW GEOLOGY-FOCUSED AUDIO TOUR ON YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK'S MOBILE APP

Yosemite National Park typically sees 4-5 million visitors annually. Based on a recent survey, park visitors spend on average 1-3 days in the park, with more than half of visitors reporting that viewing scenery was the primary reason for visiting. In 2019 the park created a mobile app that contains information on sites to see, self-guided tours, schedules, services, transportation, safety information, as well as itineraries to plan their visit. In order to increase access to and engagement with scientific information about Yosemite, we created an audio tour that tells the geologic story of Yosemite Valley. Narrated by Yosemite’s Park Geologist, the tour is the first audio tour available on the park app. The self-guided audio tour takes visitors on a 1.3 mile walk through Cook’s Meadow in Yosemite Valley. There are eight stops on the tour where visitors can view and learn about Yosemite’s most iconic features such as Half-Dome and Yosemite Falls. The audio tour also discusses geohazards such as flooding and rockfalls, including a stop where John Muir witnessed a rockfall in 1872. The goal of the audio tour is to increase visitor knowledge and awareness about the on-going geologic processes at work in the park. Each stop is georeferenced, allowing visitors to easily find their location and track their progress so they can adapt the tour to fit individual interests and time constraints. Seven of the eight stops are wheelchair accessible and the tour includes the audio text, supporting images with captions, and audio descriptions of the area at each stop allowing visitors to access the information in a way that best serves their individual needs. User data, including how many visitors access the app, duration of usage (i.e. did they do the full tour), and demographic information (e.g. age of visitor) are collected to improve the content. The audio tour was added to the app in May 2020, but due to an extended park closure and subsequent limited visitation related to COVID-19, it is too soon to tell how effective the tour has been in increasing scientific engagement in the park. However, visitor centers are promoting self-guided tours as an alternative way to experience the park. This audio tour communicates science in a creative way that is easy to understand and accessible to a wide audience, improving scientific outreach and education in the park.