Like that gallery exhibit? Go ahead, take it home

William Scofield docked his audio guide into an ARTscape kiosk in the atrium of the Peabody Essex Museum -- and planned to take his favorite works of art home.

He and his daughters had “bookmarked” some eye-catching exhibits by punching in the ID numbers on the audio guide’s keypad as they walked through the Native American gallery.

After downloading those numbers into an online account at the atrium kiosk, they hoped to further explore those favorites at home, linking them with related items in the museum’s collection.

“When you go away from the museum, you have more than just nice memories,” Scofield said. “You have something you can revisit, from home or anywhere, and also share the experience with other people.”

ARTscape is one of the latest programs in a national trend among museums using online technology to extend their reach, said Ed Able, president and chief executive of the American Assn. of Museums, an organization of about 3,000 museums, including the Peabody Essex.

“If it’s online and it has these tools associated with it, it can be useful anywhere, and that’s the beauty of it. Museums are reaching out beyond their geographical boundaries,” Able said.

At the 204-year-old Salem museum, which reopened in June after a $125-million renovation, ARTscape was born of a need to cater to an increasingly diverse audience, said John Grimes, a deputy director at the museum who headed the project.

“We are recognizing that there are different learning styles, different kinds of intelligence, different kinds of cultural backgrounds,” Grimes said. “With this technology, we can provide context, more cultural information important for understanding the use and meaning of these art objects.”

Visitors can also use ARTscape to browse the museum holdings, only a fraction of which are on display at any given time. They can search by keyword and make “connections” -- look up works from the same culture, made from the same materials, from the same era, or created for the same social purpose.

The museum, founded in 1799 by Salem sea captains to display treasures they collected around the globe, now boasts 2.4 million works of art, architecture and culture. Known for its maritime art and history collection, Asian and Oceanic art, the museum also has extensive holdings in American art, Native American and African works.

Museum officials said almost 2,000 people have registered for online accounts since ARTscape was launched in June, and the ARTscape Web site averages about 3,500 hits per month.

The Experience Music Project in Seattle, devoted to American popular music, has had hand-held Museum Exhibit Guide devices since the museum opened in 2000. These small devices also allow visitors to store their favorite displays and access them later from the museum’s digital lab or from home.

The guides have about 20 hours of data -- including interviews, interesting trivia and music clips -- an abundance of information that can well outlast visitors on their feet all day, said EMP spokeswoman Paige Prill.

“But if you have interest in a topic being displayed, you can get a wealth of information you couldn’t possibly get by just looking at the object and reading the text blurb next to it, and people are really enjoying that,” Prill said.

Julie Beeler, studio director of Second Story Interactive Studios, which helped design ARTscape and counts many prominent museums among its customers, said the online tools allow visitors to create their own experience.