[BCMA] Accessibility in Museums

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Hi Cathy,

In the 1990s, the humanist Mayor of Kamloops created a "Mayor’s Advisory Committee for Accessibility".   The Committee was made up of 12 to 20 people, each representing a different “Accessible” topic or organization.   I was really impressed with the variety of “Accessible Needs” they represented, from physical to cognitive, emotional, social and economic.   A powerful Committee, the members were all wonderfully articulate in their sharing and discussion.   If the Committee still exists in Kamloops, it would be a fabulous resource for Accessibility Planning.   When redesigning the Kamloops Museum, I presented the proposed plans to them for comment, and received excellent feedback.

In the late1990s, the Children’s Museum in Cincinnati, USA experienced a major development in a glorious but abandoned Art Deco train station.   The building’s interior was redesigned to accommodated the Children’s Museum as well as the History and Natural History Museums of the city, all brought together at that time under the one beautiful giant roof by the wisdom of City Council which hesitated to see the building demolished.

For the Children’s Museum, a benefactor offered to donate $6 million provided they would address every “Accessible Need” they could think of.   The exhibit gallery results were absolutely brilliant, thoroughly provocative and eye-opening if you learned of how they came to be and what they addressed so seamlessly in the overall effect of the galleries.   Many display or hardware items seemed simply beautiful or fascinating, but behind them was a serious attempt to specifically address a great diversity of accessible needs.

For limited sight, for example, they made use of theme-shaped shadows, interpretive shapes of display cases, focused lighting and intense colours to help interpret display topics.   To stimulating a variety of physical sensations for those in wheelchairs, one gallery had three access ramps side by side, each made with a very different textures in the floor.  A sand-play area had sand and props conventionally available at floor level, but also had a linked sand tray at a table level perfect for wheelchair access.   The latter also was perfectly appropriate for standing adults, which every child visiting a museum has as a companion.   Everyone was engaged, no matter what their disability of age.  A secondary objective there was to show children that even adults can have a playful spirit.   At the entry lobby there was an open 3D model of the museum's interior with Braille tablets for each gallery, designed to provide the blind with a tangible map of the museum before entering.    The manner in which every sense and ability challenge was addressed at multiple levels of need was truly impressive.

Check this link for some of the information.   
https://www.cincymuseum.org/accessibility/

I would love to share the photos of specific building and exhibit treatments there to better illustrate the brilliance of the concepts applied.   Perhaps true Accessibility as practiced in Cincinnati is a topic for a BCMA Conference sharing and discussion session.   Accessibility is much more possible than just providing walking or wheelchair access.

Cheers,
Cuyler  (Cuyler Page)
Curator
Greater Vernon Museum & Archives
Vernon, BC