Comparison

Explorer vs MS 50

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Explorer

Navigate a world-renowned museum with ease. This app provides interactive maps, turn-by-turn directions to exhibits and amenities, and personalized recommendations based on your interests. Enhance your visit with behind-the-scenes content and engaging quizzes.

Highlights
  • Interactive museum map
  • Turn-by-turn directions
  • Customized exhibit recommendations
  • Exhibit information and quizzes
  • Amenity finder (restrooms, shops)
  • Multi-language support
Read full description

Download Explorer, the Museum’s free mobile app! Get a map, turn-by-turn directions to exhibits and amenities, customized recommendations for what to see, and more!    “A great aid to anyone seeing the museum for the first or 40th time.” - The New York Times   Available in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Explorer is automatically set to the language of your device.   Map and Turn-by-Turn Directions Get directions to exhibits and amenities, including shortest and accessible routes.   Get Recommendations for What to See Explorer recommends exhibits based on interests you select—and sorts them by how close they are to your location.   Learn More About the Museum’s Exhibits Go behind the scenes and dive deeper with videos, fun quizzes, and more.   Find the Nearest Restroom Explorer provides you the shortest route to restrooms, shops, exits, and more. How does Explorer know where you are? The Museum has placed more than 700 Bluetooth beacons throughout its 45 permanent halls. These tiny beacons give off signals that your phone can detect (when Bluetooth is enabled). Your phone calculates your position based on detecting three of these beacons simultaneously. This triangulation is not always perfect, especially in certain areas like large, multi-level halls, meandering walkways, or stairwells. Your phone should be able to detect the hall that you are in and provide turn-by-turn directions, but sometimes the “blue dot” is not exactly in the right place. In some rare cases it will even be missing. Moving to another area and waiting a few moments will usually fix the issue. The Museum’s free AMNH-GUEST Wi-Fi also varies in strength throughout the complex. Certain materials and large exhibits (i.e. the Blue Whale) either absorb or reflect the radio signals used by Wi-Fi, further complicating this technology. If you experience difficulty connecting to Wi-Fi in a particular part of the Museum, you can usually fix the issue by moving a short distance away.   We’d Love to Hear From You! Your feedback is important and will help us improve your Museum experience. Email explorer@amnh.org.   Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies

About

MS 50

This app provides a unified platform for students, families, and educators to access academic schedules, grades, school announcements, and staff directories. It offers multilingual support and integrates with essential educational tools for seamless communication and management.

Highlights
  • Academic schedules and grades
  • School announcements and notifications
  • Parent-Teacher Association updates
  • Staff directory
  • Multilingual support (100+ languages)
  • Integration with Google Classroom and ClassDojo
  • Health resources
Features
Read full description

Key Features: Students: Gain the edge in your studies with direct links to your academic schedules, real-time grades, and extensive learning materials. Families: Participate actively in school life with updates from the Parent-Teacher Association, a comprehensive staff directory, and detailed reports on student progress. Educational Staff: Have immediate access to crucial educational data, embed the principles of PBIS in your teaching, and find valuable CTLE materials for ongoing educational growth. Latest Updates: Stay abreast of the latest school announcements through instant notifications. All your school’s social platforms integrated into one stream for ease of access. Planning and Participation: Always be in the loop with exhaustive details on academic and extracurricular activities, including conferences and various school outings. Multilingual Support & User-Friendly Design: A testament to our dedication to diversity with language support spanning over 100 languages and full accessibility for all users. Advantages: A unified digital nexus for: Parents: Manage your child's schooling with an all-encompassing mobile resource. Educators: Simplify educational management and student interaction. Real-World Applications: Parents On-the-Move: Effortlessly check in on your child’s academic performance even amidst a hectic day. Pupils: Lay out your week seamlessly by reviewing schedules ahead of time. Educators: Streamline planning for school activities and academic schedules with your peers. Interactive Elements: A seamless navigation experience with an intuitive interface. One-touch access to essential educational platforms like Google Classroom and ClassDojo. Health resources at your fingertips, with essential links to wellness screenings and immunization information. Distinct Offerings: On-demand translation for inclusive engagement with the school community. An engaging visual showcase featuring school events and moments. Wrap-Up: Get the J.H.S. 050 John D. Wells Educational Gateway now to simplify your educational experience – simplifying education management for everyone involved.

Screenshots

Explorer3 screens
MS 504 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MS 50 at 4.6 against Explorer's 3.9. MS 50 also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 58%) and device support (3 vs 1). Explorer's advantage is ratings volume (108 vs 20). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MS 50 holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Explorer has 108 ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Explorer's written reviews are positive against 100% of MS 50's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Explorer ships an update every 2 months, MS 50 every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Explorer versus MS 50: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterExplorerMS 50
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (108 ratings)4.6 (20 ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings108 — better20
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size88 MB163 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAmerican Museum of Natural HistorySolved Education Consultancy, LLC

Customer experience

Explorer

All ratings108 ratings
Positive68.5%
Neutral6.5%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews117 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral9.4%
Negative32.5%

MS 50

All ratings20 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Explorer

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App crashes when accessing membership/ticket linking
  • Location services fail to detect user position
  • Bluetooth continues tracking after app closes
  • Payment confirmation button unresponsive
  • Duplicate charges on payment attempts
Show 7 more
  • App freezes on food page navigation
  • Crashes when changing map levels
  • Swiping on image galleries doesn't work
  • App won't open or closes immediately
  • GPS shows incorrect floor levels
  • Directions loop back on themselves
  • Maps don't match physical museum layout

Requested features

10 requests
  • Digital membership card storage
  • Apple Pay support for payments
  • Search function for exhibits
  • Swipe functionality for image galleries
  • To-do list based on interests and time
Show 5 more
  • Planetarium and show times integration
  • Ability to highlight halls on map
  • Improved battery optimization
  • Current exhibition listings
  • Ticket pricing and hours information

MS 50

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Explorer

No in-app purchases

None

MS 50

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Explorer free?
Explorer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MS 50 free?
MS 50 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Explorer or MS 50?
MS 50 is rated higher. Explorer averages 3.9 out of 5 from 108 ratings, while MS 50 averages 4.6 from 20 ratings.
Do Explorer or MS 50 have ads?
Neither Explorer nor MS 50 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Explorer or MS 50?
Explorer ships an update every 2 months, and MS 50 every 6 weeks. Most recently, Explorer was updated on October 14, 2026 and MS 50 on October 12, 2026.

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