The National Science Museum (NSM) in Japan has recently completed a project using different types of visitor-oriented digital technologies. With sponsorship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), the NSM team carried out a four-year study to examine how digital technologies can be used to enhance as well as educationally enrich a visit to a science and natural history museum. Two types of devices, a handheld audio guide and an integrated circuit card, were tested in the museum. The results of the project are described along with suggestions for designers and educators who are seeking to add similar devices to their museums. (Contains 3 figures and 8 notes.)