National Archives giving tips on history through FourSquare

Doing a FourSquare “check-in” at the Washington Monument? You can get a helpful tip from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) offering a look of a photo of the monument under construction. The photo can either be sent to a smart phone or accessed online.

NARA, along with the Presidential Libraries and Museums, are now collaborating with the FourSquare location-based social networking service to distribute dozens of informational tips at historic sites in several states, soon to expand to sites nationwide.

For example, at the Supreme Court, FourSquare check-ins with NARA include a link to an audio recording. At the Lincoln Memorial, the link is to a historic video.

NARA also is encouraging FourSquare users to leave their own tips and helpful information as they visit the historic sites.

The new service currently is available in the Washington, DC, Kansas City, and Philadelphia NARA locations.