TouchStory Reader Rail Builder Now Available

For many museums, the biggest obstacle to adopting digital interpretation is not imagination, but rather the cost of custom software. Over the past year, our team at Ideum has been working to address that challenge. Today, we are excited to announce the free Beta release of TouchStory Reader Rail Builder, the first in our TouchStory software line. This no-code builder allows museum professionals, designers, and educators to create interactive media experiences in-house, without programming and without additional software fees.

Beginning today current users of the Ideum Reader Rail Kiosk can request access to the beta version of the software.

Why We Built It

In October 2024, we began interviewing exhibit designers, curators, educators, content developers, graphic designers, and media specialists from institutions around the country. We asked one question: What would make a digital label tool truly useful? Their answers shaped every part of this builder.

Focus group participants from museums such as the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, the Museum of International Folk Art, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston shared needs that consistently rose to the top:

• Flexibility in graphic design
• Support for multiple languages
• The ability to include rich media such as images, video, and audio
• Easy hotspot creation
• A tool that could interpret anything from a timeline to a diorama to a gallery wall.

They also emphasized a desire to build content quickly and independently. As noted across the discussions, most teams do not have the budget for subscription services or recurring development cycles. They need a stable and durable solution that they can update themselves on their own timeline. TouchStory Reader Rail Builder was created specifically to meet that need.

What the Software Can Do

TouchStory Reader Rail Builder allows anyone, including designers, curators, educators, or IT staff, to build an interactive exhibit in just a few hours. Core features include:

Media Integration

• Import videos, audio, and images
• Add captions, credit lines, and descriptive text
• Create rich media viewers with carousels or single cards

Hotspot Creation

• Place hotspots anywhere on an image or diagram
• Add multiple media assets to each hotspot
• Build interpretive pathways for dioramas, gallery walls, murals, viewsheds, skeletal mounts, timelines, and more

Design Flexibility

• Adjust fonts, colors, and layout
• Add titles, headers, subheads, body copy, and labels
• Design directly in the Builder or import predesigned assets
• Support for foreign-language fonts and multilingual text

Multi-Language Support

• Build bilingual interactives
• Use a visitor-facing toggle to switch languages instantly

Visitor Experience Tools

• Create attract screens
• Build ADA-friendly interfaces
• Add optional QR codes so visitors can take content home

Simple Deployment

• Export an installer file
• Load onto any Ideum Reader Rail screen or kiosk via USB or network connection
• Update content any time without redevelopment

The result is a complete interpretive experience ready for gallery use, built in only a few hours.

Designed for the Realities of Museum Work

The Builder was designed for real interpretive scenarios that museums face daily, including:

• Display cases with limited physical label space
• Salon-style gallery walls
• Detailed murals or illustrated reconstructions
• Natural history dioramas
• Platform displays
• Viewsheds from balconies or mezzanines
• Timelines, maps, diagrams, or multi-object gang labels

Because the Reader Rail Kiosk is wheelchair accessible, visually clear, paintable, and easy to position in a gallery, it can serve as a standalone solution or complement printed labels in complex environments.

The First Installations

The beta Builder and kiosk have already debuted at two institutions:

• Carnegie Museum of Natural History
• Center for PostNatural History

Both organizations are using the Builder to interpret content in flexible and high-impact ways, demonstrating the value of a rapid, no-code approach for both rotating gallery displays as well as long-term installations.

‍

Access the Software Free Today

The TouchStory Reader Rail Builder beta is available now to new and existing Reader Rail purchasers. Anyone interested in trying the Builder can contact our sales team.

With the Beta package, you will receive:

• Software installers for macOS and Windows
• A Quick Start Guide
• A Beta Notice and Agreement
• An FAQ covering templates, asset specifications, and deployment
• Optional access to a 30-minute kickoff meeting with a member of our team

We are here to support you at every step, from your first project to your first gallery deployment. If you would like access to the software, reach out anytime. We look forward to seeing what you create.