Using Technology to Make Museums Accessible
Location
PANEL: Digital Innovations Furthering Discoveries and Innovative Accessibility in Classics and Archaeology
King 343
Document Type
Presentation - Open Access
Start Date
4-28-2023 2:00 PM
End Date
4-28-2023 3:00 PM
Abstract
Museums have long been a place where many people feel unwelcome and a major factor in this is a lack of accessibility. According to Samantha Silverberg, museum professional and user experience designer, “If museums truly want to be more inclusive, they need to understand that not everyone who is classified as “disabled” uses a wheelchair, and their needs do not end at physical entry to the building”. For some buildings the architecture provides unique challenges to physical accessibility. In other cases, however, the museums are inaccessible not only to people with mobility issues, but to those with other disabilities such as vision impairments. Some museums, however, are beginning to combat this inaccessibility in creative ways. I have been designing an exhibit that is broadly accessible to those with vision impairments and other disabilities and documenting the roadblocks that arise from doing so to show the possibilities that modern technologies lend to making such exhibits and the struggles that people looking to do the same may face. This project focuses on how technological advancements can improve visitor experiences for everyone regardless of ability. To what extent should we change the technologies already in place or should we use advancements to simply enhance the experiences already being provided? How can rapidly advancing technologies allow smaller institutions to provide experiences that would have been confined to big museums with large staffs and budgets just a few decades ago?
Keywords:
Accessibility, Technology, Museums, 3D printing
Recommended Citation
Collins, Marissa, "Using Technology to Make Museums Accessible" (2023). Research Symposium. 19.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/researchsymp/2023/presentations/19
Major
Archaeological Studies; Classical Civilizations
Project Mentor(s)
Ben Lee, Classics
2023
Using Technology to Make Museums Accessible
PANEL: Digital Innovations Furthering Discoveries and Innovative Accessibility in Classics and Archaeology
King 343
Museums have long been a place where many people feel unwelcome and a major factor in this is a lack of accessibility. According to Samantha Silverberg, museum professional and user experience designer, “If museums truly want to be more inclusive, they need to understand that not everyone who is classified as “disabled” uses a wheelchair, and their needs do not end at physical entry to the building”. For some buildings the architecture provides unique challenges to physical accessibility. In other cases, however, the museums are inaccessible not only to people with mobility issues, but to those with other disabilities such as vision impairments. Some museums, however, are beginning to combat this inaccessibility in creative ways. I have been designing an exhibit that is broadly accessible to those with vision impairments and other disabilities and documenting the roadblocks that arise from doing so to show the possibilities that modern technologies lend to making such exhibits and the struggles that people looking to do the same may face. This project focuses on how technological advancements can improve visitor experiences for everyone regardless of ability. To what extent should we change the technologies already in place or should we use advancements to simply enhance the experiences already being provided? How can rapidly advancing technologies allow smaller institutions to provide experiences that would have been confined to big museums with large staffs and budgets just a few decades ago?
