- Introduction
- Terms and Access
- Accessibility in Practice
- Planning for Accssibility
- During the Visit
- Continuing to Innovate
Additional Means of Increasing Accessibility
While this blog post focuses on blind or visually impaired and deaf/hard of hearing visitors, many museum staff we spoke with shared other creative ways to improve accessibility for guests with different and/or additional needs. Many museums offered sensory hours, which limit the number of guests, or provided guidance as to when the museum was most likely to be less busy. Some museums offered sensory maps or documentation of sensory experiences.
The Access/VSA International Network, managed by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Office of Accessibility and Visitor Studies Association, is an active global community that shares best practices in arts access, brainstorms solutions to common (and uncommon) issues, and blazes an accessible path to the world of arts and culture.
Accessible Oceans will publish findings that could transform how other science centers present data, using pitch, pattern, duration, and other auditory qualities to make meaningful sonifications of visual datasets (Bower et al.). The Bower Lab at Woods Hole and partners are experimenting with auditory presentation of ocean data. Using volume, intensity, pattern, speed, duration, they are transforming graphs of ocean floor, creating data sonifications.
The Sound Travels project recognizes that science centers tend to have quite a bit of ambient noise, particularly when school groups visit. At times background noise can interfere with navigation and learning, but little is known about the qualities of sound that interfere and enhance the visitor experience. The project is in its second year and will begin sharing findings in 2025.
Conclusion
Science museum staff are working diligently and creatively to craft inclusive environments for all of their guests. By implementing practical solutions and learning from one another, museums can ensure that all visitors, regardless of their abilities, can fully enjoy and benefit from the museum experience. As Katherine Davis explained: “we want to make it so you can walk into our doors at any point or hang out with us at every festival we are at, making it truly inclusive and equitable.”
Acknowledgments
Thanks to COSI staff Kristy Williams and Katherine Davis, Denise King from the Exploratorium, Heather Popion from the Franklin Park Conservatory, Liz Kunz Kollmann at the Museum of Science, Marcie Benne from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, and Jolie Pelds from the Science Center of Iowa.
Sources
Argyropoulos, V., & Kanari, C. (2015). Re-imagining the museum through “touch”: Reflections of individuals with visual disability on their experience of museum-visiting in Greece. Alter – European Journal of Disability Research, 9(2), 130–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/J. ALTER.2014.12.005
Bower, A., Bellona, J., & Roberts, J. (n.d.). Accessible Oceans: Making Ocean Science Accessible to the Visually Impaired. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. https://www2.whoi.edu/site/bower-lab/accessible-oceans/
Kollmann, E.K., Caulfield, L.A.M., & Porter, T. (2024). Integrating formative accessibility testing into evaluation for an immersive STEM exhibition. In L. Trainer (Ed.), Evaluating accessibility in museums (pp. 79-100). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Neves, JosĂ©lia. 2012. “Multi Sensory Approaches to (Audio) Describing the Visual Arts.” MonTI: MonografĂas de TraducciĂłn e InterpretaciĂłn [MonTI: Translation and Interpretation Monographs] 4: 277–93.
The Kennedy Center. (n.d.). About the Network. Access/VSA International Network. https://www.accessvsa.org/about
Vaz, Freitas & Coelho, 2020. Blind and Visually Impaired Visitors’ Experiences in Museums: Increasing Accessibility through Assistive Technologies. The International Journal of the Inclusive Museum​. V13, Issue 2.