Manitoba history app InSite wins prestigious award from National Trust

The Manitoba Historical Society put more than 10,000 historical sites into people's palms — and now it has a national award to put in its own pocket.

The historical society's app, InSite, was recognized with one of this year's Governors Awards from the National Trust for Canada last month in Halifax.

Presented annually to organizations demonstrating "exceptional leadership in heritage preservation, education and public engagement," the awards celebrate projects that "strengthen connections of Canadians to their shared past," according to a news release from the historical society.

This non-profit was acknowledged for its commitment to using technology to make Manitoba history more discoverable and accessible.

The InSite app is an interactive map featuring some 10,000 historic sites, landscapes and stories across the province, including nearly 3,000 in Winnipeg. There are more than 24,000 images in the app, many of which are archival and cast users back in time.

Users can tap an icon to open a Manitoba Historical Society website entry that explains the significance of the location. The app identifies and categorizes sites using six different icons: building, cemetery, location, monument, museum/archive and other.

Gordon Goldsborough, the society's head researcher, said receiving a Governors Award for the app was a "complete surprise."

"I did not know that it was in the running. I mean, I'm pleased with the result, because of course it means that now that app gets national exposure," he said, adding he hopes it will inspire groups in other provinces to create something similar.

Goldsborough said the app was a "labour of love," and was downloaded 5,000 times in its first week.

InSite is intended to make "history more accessible" to younger generations and those who are often on their phones, he said.

Developed by Kyle Tichon of Winnipeg-based Tichon Technologies, InSite is a free download from the Google Play Store and Apple App store.

Goldsborough said Tichon attended the awards ceremony in Halifax and "had one heck of a good time," returning full of new ideas to present history in creative ways.

The InSite app is constantly adding new sites, Goldsborough said, and the society is always open to users' suggestions — from sites of national significance to places that are important to local communities. 

But if you plan to go to all of the historical sites highlighted in the app, Goldsborough wishes you "good luck," because "you'd have years ahead of you" before you visited them all.