We are very excited to be near the completion of a ground breaking project made possible by a £25k grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund – “Reaching Out with Sound” – improving access to our museum for the visually impaired and disabled.
The design of the museum building, which was originally an 18th century coach house, means that the first-floor exhibition area can only be reached by a fairly narrow staircase. Much of our collection has therefore been inaccessible to visually impaired or disabled visitors, and this lack of access may also limit the contribution of those who would like to work with us and carry out research. Additionally, some potential visitors, including residents in care homes, find it difficult to come to the museum in person.
“Reaching out with Sound” is designed to bring these communities to the museum, or take the museum to them. We will be placing Navilens codes alongside exhibits in the museum – little coloured squares that you may already have noticed on cereal packets and other items in the supermarket. These codes will link to the Navilens apps on visitors’ smartphones, providing audible information to replace or supplement the written captions. Using oral descriptions, music and sound effects to describe and explain the exhibits, we aim to enhance the museum experience for all our visitors. The material will also be available through YouTube and on our website, along with photographs and video, for those who are unable to come into the museum, or just want to know more than we are able to fit onto our captions.
In the video below, Museum Director Sylvia Hixson-Andrews explains and demonstrates how the technology will work in the museum…
