What I have learnt about accessibility in museums
During the winter term 2024 I worked with the Heureka Museum in Vantaa on multisensory experiences in museums. Since museums often appeal primarily or exclusively to the sense of sight, many people with visual impairments are excluded. But it is not only people with visual impairments who face barriers in museums. The accessibility of spaces and information is often restricted or prevented for people with various disabilities. As a result, people with disabilities do not have the same access to information as people without disabilities. Museums should therefore design exhibitions and information in such a way that they can also be perceived by other senses.
The project focuses on the accessible communication of information within the museum. The aim of the project was to find out what methods and techniques are available to address the different senses in different ways. In this way, communication barriers in the museum can be reduced. Ideally, people with disabilities will be able to perceive exhibitions and information in the museum without the help of an assistant.
Multisensory experiences increase accessibility in museums
Museums are generally designed for people without disabilities. Exhibits are usually not meant to be touched and can only be viewed. This excludes people with visual impairments. They are unable to perceive the exhibits or the information independently. Museums often have audio guides that provide visitors with auditory information about the exhibits. However, the exhibit itself is still not accessible to people with visual impairments because there are no audio descriptions. These and many other barriers exist in museums for people with disabilities.
Some museums are taking steps to make their exhibitions accessible to people with disabilities. One example is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Their goal is to create a museum experience that is inclusive and accessible to everyone. The museum’s guidelines outline how information in exhibitions should be designed to be accessible to as many people as possible. Technology in the building makes it easier for people with different disabilities to navigate and access information independently. Exhibitions that address all the senses where possible provide a multisensory experience for people with and without
disabilities and increase accessibility. For example, in the ’Delinking and Relinking’ exhibition at the Van Abbemuseum in the Netherlands, exhibits can be touched, smelled and heard. There are replicas, scent cards and accompanying music. In addition, an app provides descriptions not only in auditory form, but also in sign language.
Multisensory experiences for people with and without disabilities
While multisensory experiences increase accessibility for people with disabilities, they can also have benefits for people without disabilities. For example, audio descriptions can draw attention to details that might otherwise be missed. Multisensory experiences can increase attention to the exhibit and enhance the visitor’s learning experience. Although multisensory experiences have many benefits, including increasing accessibility, they can also lead to information overload, or the different senses can interfere with each other. However, in my opinion, creating accessibility is more important than the possible negative effects that can arise. Creating multisensory experiences is an important measure to make museum visits accessible for people with disabilities.
An AI application has been used when translating the blog text from German into English.
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