A sculpture
Why am I here?
Hear from the artist who created it, residents who watched it arrive and people who encounter it every day.
An initiative of CherishFamily
Imagine if every place could speak.
What would it say?
Let It Speak brings places to life through the stories they hold. Scan a simple marker to hear voices, discover memories, explore history and understand the people who made a place what it is.
The invitation
Quiet enough to leave the place undisturbed.
A Let It Speak marker is not signage. It is a tag the size of a coin, placed where a curious visitor will find it and a passer-by never will. Nothing is drilled or built. The work itself is never touched. If it would change how a place looks or feels, we don't install it.
The marker
One small tag.
Every Let It Speak marker is the same small thing: a tag about an inch across, bronze or matched to the material around it, carrying a leaf, “Scan to hear my story” and a code. It is held with a conservation-grade adhesive on a discreet spot the steward chooses: the base or pedestal of a sculpture, the edge of a plaque, the back of a sign, the frame of a label. Never on the sculpted work itself. Nothing is drilled. It goes on in a minute and comes off in a minute, without a mark. If you decide you don't want it, take it off.
- Sculpture
- On the pedestal or base, low and to the side.
- Monument
- On the plinth edge or an existing plaque frame.
- Tree
- On a nearby bench, post or existing sign, never the tree.
- Museum object
- On the existing label.
The place is the hero.The marker is the invitation.The page is the experience.The voices create the connection.The community keeps the story alive.
Discovered, not announced.
A Let It Speak marker is meant to be found, not noticed. It is a tag the size of a coin, in bronze or a finish matched to the place, set where a curious visitor will see it and a passer-by never will. Think of a maker's mark on the underside of a bowl: a small sign that there is more here for anyone who wants to look. The artwork, the monument, the tree and the view are never interrupted. If a tag would change how a place looks or feels, we do not place it.
People · Places · Stories · Generations
What if the places around us could tell us what they've seen?
A tree
What has happened beneath my branches?
Discover who planted it, what once surrounded it and the generations who gathered beneath it.
A monument
Who do I remember?
Go beyond the names carved in stone and discover the voices, experiences and memories behind them.
A neighborhood
Who lived here before us?
Hear residents tell the stories that transformed streets into communities.
A museum object
What could I tell you that won't fit on a label?
Hear historians, witnesses, descendants and community members bring an object to life.
A park
What happened here?
Discover celebrations, protests, childhood memories, traditions and everyday moments that shaped a community.
The world around us is filled with stories.Let them speak.
How it works
Four simple steps.
The technology stays in the background. The place stays the hero.
- 1
Discover
A small tag, about an inch across, marks a place with stories to tell.
- 2
Scan
Visitors scan the QR code with any smartphone. No app download required.
- 3
Listen
Hear voices, watch videos and see photographs connected to the place where you're standing.
- 4
Contribute
Where enabled, community members can add their own memories, photographs and reflections.
- The marker is the invitation.The page is the experience.The voices create the connection.
- See how it works in detail
See real samples
Four ways a place can speak.
These demonstration pages show how the same Let It Speak experience works for very different places and stories.
History / Museums
Merci Train Boxcar
A state-by-state boxcar of gratitude, and the local voices that keep its story moving.
View sample
Memorial / Veterans
Korean War Memorial
Veterans, family and historians speak about service, sacrifice and the community that remembers.
View sample
Memorial / Public Memory
September 11 Memorial
Where were you on September 11, 2001? Firsthand memories gathered with dignity.
View sample
Public Art
Childe Hassam Park
A bronze sculpture in Boston's South End, and the neighbors, historians and visitors who pause beside it.
View sampleVoices, not just text
Sometimes you need to hear the voice.
Let It Speak can preserve audio, video, photography, written stories, oral histories, historical documents and personal reflections — whatever form the memory arrives in.
A hundred years from now, someone could stand where you are standing and hear a voice from today.
For organizations
Bring your places to life.
Whether you have one meaningful landmark or hundreds of locations across a community, Let It Speak can help connect places with the voices, memories and history that give them meaning.
Start With One Place
Ideal for an individual monument, sculpture, exhibit, tree, memorial or historic location.
Start a ConversationCreate a Story Trail
Connect several locations into a curated physical and digital storytelling experience.
Build a Story TrailBuild a Community Story Network
Create an interconnected storytelling experience across a museum, campus, neighborhood, town, city or region.
Talk With UsCommunities and sponsors can also help. Community Story Networks · Sponsor a community
Your first place is free. $29 a month per place after that. Larger programs on request.
There's a place near you with a story waiting to be heard.
Let's help it speak.
An initiative of CherishFamily