Modern media meets Colonial Williamsburg

From CNN:

Thomas Jefferson isn’t about to start listening to an iPod, with telltale earbud wires dangling from beneath his three-cornered hat as he walks the streets of Colonial Williamsburg.

But people far from the restored 18th-century capital of Virginia can use their portable audio players to hear costumed interpreter Bill Barker talk about portraying Jefferson or, in honor of the Fourth of July holiday, read the Declaration of Independence.

The world’s largest living history museum long has used modern media to share its stories with audiences far beyond its 301-acre Historic Area, dating back to before World War II when it produced an educational film for schools.

Today, it has an extensive Web site with photo slideshows, online exhibits and interactive tours, and it offers “electronic field trips” for schools using live television broadcasts and the Internet.

It’s also using something that didn’t even exist a couple years ago: podcasts.

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