Welcome to the Bowmanville Discovery Stations

Located throughout the valley are a series of smartphone Discovery Stations. Scan your phone at each of the stations to explore the natural and cultural history of the valley. The stations contain information, stories, app suggestions and games that encourage you to look closer at the habitat around you.

To scan, hold your phone above the marked NFC chip (within 1 cm) and move it slowly around until the chip triggers a response from your phone. Note where the phone was triggered because this is the location of your NFC antenna and you will scan the same spot each time.

If you can’t get a response, you may need to do the following:

Android Phone

NFC chips should work with all Android phones. You need to enable NFC access on your phone. To do this:

1. Swipe down from the top of your phone.
2. Scroll through the icons until you find the one marked NFC
3. Tap to turn it on.
4. Alternately, you can select settings, then Share and connect and make sure the NFC switch is on.

NOTE: NFC antennas are located in different places on different phones. Some are near the top of the phone and you need to tap with the lead edge. Some are in the middle and you need to hover over the chip moving the phone up and down. Once you find the spot, you will know where to scan for every chip.

iPhone (Xs, XR or newer)

1. Go to settings
2. Select More
3. Tap on NFC to enable it

NOTE: NFC antennas are located in different places on different phones. Some are near the top of the phone and you need to tap with the lead edge. Some are in the middle and you need to hover over the chip moving the phone up and down. Once you find the spot, you will know where to scan for every chip.

iPhone (7, 8 or X)

You will need to install an NFC reader app from the App store. Once installed, run the app and you will be able to scan the NFC chips. The app must be running to detect the chips.

iPhone (6 or older)

If your phone is older than iPhone 7 or you are still unable to get it to work, never fear, visit ds.valleys2000.ca and select the station you want from the list below.