Abstract
New, renewed, and innovative museum experiences are constantly being provided to the general public. But millions of visually impaired persons worldwide are still deprived of access to enjoying and engaging with collections. People with visual impairments generally experience many barriers when visiting museum exhibitions, given the visual centricity of these exhibitions. The situation is worsened by a frequent lack of physical, intellectual, and sensory access to exhibits or replicas, increased by the inaccessibility to use information and communication technology-based alternatives or augmentative communication resources that may allow different interactions to sighted visitors. Few studies analyze applications of assistive technologies for multisensory exhibit design and relate them with visitors’ experiences. This research explores an accessible exhibition — Mysteries of the Art of Healing — mediated by technological solutions in ten interactive moments of the on-site visit, developed for the Pharmacy Museum of Porto. Evaluation results with twenty-five participants who visited the exhibition in situ revealed its applicability within this context, and global satisfaction results showed to be very positive and mainly correlated to four variables. It concludes that visually impaired visitors’ limited experiences in museums could be surpassed and their visits enhanced by moving beyond accessibility, embracing inclusion, and focusing on the creation of multimodal and multisensory approaches to promote engaging, memorable, and exciting visiting opportunities for all.
Presenters
Roberto VazPh.D., Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, University of Porto, Portugal
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Visual Impairments, Accessibility In Museums, Visitor Experience, Assistive Technologies, Multisensory
