Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

A physical passport that led Utah residents and visitors alike to 29 destinations across the state to learn about its history has evolved into an app that allows users to track their progress and earn rewards as they visit each destination.

“Explorer Corps is a statewide initiative to help the public understand that natural history is not just within the context of a museum. It is outside with you all the time, and Utah is a particularly rich place for natural history. So, we have placed these markers, signifying a natural or cultural history significant place in each of the 29 counties,” said Beth Mitchell, senior manager for external relations at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

The Natural History Museum of Utah created a new version of its Explorer Corps app that was launched this July. The original app was started in 2021, and after about a year of using that version, Mitchell said they found it needed some changes. The new NHMU Explorer Corps app, she said, “is fully intended to enhance user experience with functionality and ease.”

She explained the new app still has photos and descriptions of each marker place users can visit, but all of the markers can also be searched and seen on a map. In addition, the app groups together different destinations into tours such as dinosaur discoveries or views from the car. These tours vary in size and number of places to visit, but Mitchell said it gives users the option to pick which locations to do based on the type of exploration they are seeking.

When users of the app reach each site or marker, the app recognizes that the user has made it to the destination, and the user then clicks on the stamp for that location to receive credit. As more sites are visited and more credit is earned, it adds up to rewards that users receive at the end of the Explorer Corps season. The rewards can be found on the app and they range from stickers to hats to Utahraptor claws. “It’s just sort of an added thing to help incentivize people to go out and see the natural history that’s all around them,” Mitchell said.

Courtesy Natural History Museum of Utah

The summer session of Explorer Corps ends on Sept. 4, so there is still time to explore the destinations. Each summer, the Explorer Corps program will start on Memorial Day and end on Labor Day.

The physical passport is a booklet that has information about the 29 sites and a place to mark each location visited. In addition, it has pages to do pencil or crayon rubbings at some of the sites. People using the physical passport are still able to participate in the summer session of the Explorer Corps. To earn rewards and get credit for visiting the sites, users need to submit pictures of themselves at the sites or a picture of rubbings to the NHMU website.

About 260 people have been active users of the Explorer Corps app this summer and two people have visited all 29 sites, which Mitchell said is “really exciting.” The first person to reach all 29 sites in 2023 is from Duchesne County — though, Mitchell said the numbers do not include those who visit the sites on their own or who use the physical passport and do not report their progress.

The top three most-visited sites are a baskin musk ox skull at NHMU (Salt Lake County) with 171 visitors, Timpanogos Cave (Utah County) with 149 visits and Antelope Island (David County) with 138 visits.

Each summer, the location counter will reset to zero for the chance to earn more prizes. The locations do not have to be visited in any certain order, Mitchell said, giving people the chance to visit different locations the following year if they did not get to all of them this summer.

Courtesy Natural History Museum of Utah

Timpanogos Cave was first discovered in 1912, then rediscovered and protected as a national monument since 1922. NHMU states on its website, “A large part of what makes Timpanogos so special is the variety and number of cave formations inside. Over the course of more than 17 million years, slightly acidic water filtered through ancient limestone to start carving out the caves. This water also carried and deposited minerals as it went, creating an entire garden of cave formations.”

The Ogden River is the destination for Weber County and currently has 75 visits. The Ogden River is a destination for fishing and wildlife viewing. NHMU states on its website, “A restored section of the Ogden River was designated a ‘Blue Ribbon Fishery’ along a 1.1. mile section of the waterway, the 46th such place to be recognized in Utah. These areas are designated not only for the abundance of wild fish, but for the care and quality of the surrounding habitats.”

Moose are especially common near the Ogden River. VisitUtah.com states, “At times there are so many moose on the loose in this country that the state wildlife agency rounds them up with helicopters and ships them to other states in trade or augments existing Utah herds.”

Facts about each of the 29 destinations can be found on the app, in the physical passport or on NHMUs website.

The Explorer Corps program was created to teach people about the history of Utah. “What we intend to do is, first of all, just get people outside and to go sort of beyond the building to experience natural history. And also to find these hidden gems that they may not know have been in their backyard, and then to present information in a non-overwhelming way,” Mitchell said.

These micro engagements, where users can easily learn about the history of the site they are visiting, are easy to “tap into” to learn the science behind a site or how the site was discovered, she added.

Mitchell explained that Explorer Corps connects with NHMU because, “The museum is sort of like a great starting point to launch an exploration of Utah, and so we wanted to give people an opportunity to do just that with this program.” People who have visited any of the markers can share their stories on the museum website to inspire others to explore Utah.

As part of the Explorer Corps program, NHMU is hosting “The Ultimate Utah Road Trip Sweepstakes.” Two winners will receive “a weeklong adventure in a luxury Winnebago from Kellville Vans in the summer of 2024.” The only requirement to enter the giveaway is that you must be at least 25 years old. Participating in Explorer Corps is not required, no purchase is necessary and NHMU will only send an email if you have won, Mitchell said. While participation is not required, NHMU says, “It’s the perfect vehicle for an Explorer Corps road trip!”

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