Deschutes Historical Museum updates walk-and-learn history app

(Update: Adding video and information)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Experience the history of Deschutes County at your own pace through “Historic Deschutes,” a newly updated app released by the Deschutes Historical Museum. The free app is available for both Android and Apple phones and tablets.

The app features more than 40 sites throughout the county from entertainment venues like Tower Theatre in Bend to Smith Rock State Park.

"People use their phones," Vanessa Ivey, Deschutes Historical Museum manager, said Wednesday. "They are not using a lot of print material when they are out and about, and this enables them to have a little history in their back pocket." 

The app, which is free to download for Android and Apple, teaches you about historical sites and landmarks.

The most recent addition to the app is Drake Park as it celebrates its centennial birthday. The park was bought by the city of Bend in 1921 for $21,000.

“People think, ‘Oh history is a dead’, but it’s not," Ivey told NewsChannel 21. "History is living and continually changing, and I think we have to change with it.”

Ivey said the app was made possible by contributions from the city and the Deschutes County Historic Landmarks Commission.

You can explore sites on your own or through themed tours that include the origins of Bend’s iconic Drake Park and various sites found along Highway 97 from Terrebonne to La Pine.

Links to the app available on the museum's home page, www.deschuteshistory.org.

For more information, call the museum at 541.389.1813 or email at info@deschuteshistory.org.

Google Play Store:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.toursphere.deschuteshistory&hl=en_US&gl=US

Apple Store:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/historic-deschutes/id1461493688