Museums are stuck in the past - here’s how we can make them more accessible.
A non-exhaustive exploration of access barriers in museums
WheelyFelix, 21.02.2024
As a disabled person who often uses a wheelchair for longer trips out, I really like visiting museums. As long as the building itself has step-free access and lifts, museums are one of the few places where I can move around easily without having to worry about steps, uneven floors, and narrow doorways. But unfortunately, I still come across plenty of easily-avoidable access issues in museums. In this post, I will explore the ways in which museums often fail when it comes to accessibility, and what needs to be done better.
Image description: I am sitting in my red electric wheelchair at a museum taking a photo in a mirror.
Access for wheelchair users is more than just ramps!
I'll start with talking about how museums can be made accessible for wheelchair users, as most time I visit a museum I'm using my chair, so this is where I have the most personal experience. One of the biggest issues I have is displays being too high up, and not having space for my legs under the display case so that I can get close enough to see properly. I often have to stand up to see the objects/read the information properly, and that's obviously not an option for a lot of wheelchair users. This can easily be solved by choosing display cases which have space underneath for wheelchair users to roll under them, and paying attention to the height at which things are displayed. One important thing to consider is that cabinets with space to be rolled under could present a problem for blind people using white canes, but they could be paired with tactile lines on the floor so that white cane users know where the cabinet is.
Image description: a wheelchair user at a museum using an interactive screen which has clear space underneath to allow wheelchair users to get their legs under the display and use the screen.
The second main problem I experience is more common in smaller museums, but it can turn up in bigger ones too: not having enough space to comfortably move around and view displays without feeling like I'm 'in the way' for other visitors. One thing that annoys me is having to have my chair side-on to the displays instead of being able to sit facing towards them because there isn't enough spaces for people to get past me otherwise, or there isn't space at all because the rows of displays are too close together. Having to twist around to view things is painful, and for a lot of people it's not possible.
The solution to this issue is simple: we just need more space between displays and wider aisles so that wheelchair users have more space to move around. Lack of space in museums also means that on busy days, it can be hard for me to get through crowds of people.
A few more issues I experience as a wheelchair user are:
- Lack of automatic doors and doors being very heavy.
- Needing staff to unlock lifts or take me through a different entrance to access the exhibits.
- Lack of disability awareness from staff leading to them treating me weirdly.
Image description: a room in a museum that doesn’t have enough space for electric wheelchair users to sit face-on to the displays without blocking the walkways. There is also no legroom under the displays.
Museums need more seating
For people who can't stand for a long time, museums without proper seating can be really inaccessible. Visitors shouldn't have to be on their feet for hours to experience an exhibit - there should be lots of opportunities to sit whilst reading information and watching videos. But all seating is not equal: often museums will only provide benches or minimalist seating with no back support.
Providing maps of the exhibit as well as audio and written guides can also help people who can't walk far, by allowing them to choose which parts of the exhibit to prioritise, and take in information whilst seated from the audio or printed guide.
The price of museums can be another barrier to visiting for people who can't walk far: if you can only be on your feet for half an hour, you won't want to pay the full entrance price to only be able to access a small part of the museum. For this reason, we need more state funding for museums to allow them to reduce their entry prices, as well as discounts for disabled people.
Image description: Someone sitting on a bench at a museum facing towards a painting. The bench has no back support or armrests, making it inaccessible for many people.
Barriers in museums for people who are blind or visually-impaired
If you have full sight like me, you probably haven't thought about just how inaccessible so many museums are if you can't read the text or see the objects. However, there are so many things that can be done to make museums more accessible to people with visual impairments.
One example is providing audio guides which describe the displays. As I recently learnt from @blindishlatina on Instagram, a good way of doing this is to provide audio guides which users can access from their phone, meaning the sound can be played through Bluetooth hearing aids for people with both visual and hearing impairments. Providing online text versions of the information means they can even be accessed by people using a Braille display, adding more access for deafblind people.
Image description: a person with a white cane using an audio guide with headphones and feeling a tactile museum display.
Another thing which not only helps blind people to access objects, but also makes museums more interative for everyone, is providing replicas of objects which visitors can touch, allowing people to experience the shape and feel of the object in a tactile way. I've even seen tactile 'maps' of paintings, using raised lines to represent the key features of the painting and different textures to represent different colours.
Additionally, tactile maps of the physical space of the museum and exhibit can be helpful for blind guests. However, one issue with these maps is that the information is often only available in Braille, which a large proportion of blind people cannot read. As I'm sighted, I can't say what the best solution for this is, but I can imagine one good option could be a tactile map paired with an audio guide.
Image description: hands feeling a colourful tactile map with Braille and raised letter labelling.
The last point I'll touch on in this section is the visibility of printed text. As someone who often views displays from lower down, small text can even be a problem for me, so I can only imagine how hard it can be for people with visual impairments. Text on displays needs to be larger, with high contrast and simple fonts - and of course, all written material should be available in an audio and virtually-accessible version. Allowing people to access the text on their phones/tablets means they can adjust the text size and contrast to make it easier for them to read, and use screenreader software to read it faster than listening to a recorded audio version.
It's also important to note that audio versions of texts can be more accessible for people who are dyslexic or who have learning disabilities or fatigue which makes it hard to read long texts.
Image description: a phone screen displaying very large text.
Captions are key
Lots of museums now use videos as part of their exhibits. But often, the videos don't have any captions, or only have an English translation of a video in another language. When there are captions, they often lack sufficient contrast or are very small, or the viewing area is set up in a way that the captions are blocked by other people's heads - this was the case at a museum I visited the other day. Captions help so many people - not just people with hearing impairments, but also those with auditory processing disorders, who need to wear headphones to control sensory input in busy spaces, or who have the local language as an additional language. I live in Germany, and my German is decent but I still don't always understand everything that's said in a video, so captions help me a lot even though I have average hearing.
Image description: a still image of video with large captions. The text is white with a black background for better visibility.
Something else that I practically never see in museums is sign language interpretation. For many Deaf people, a sign language is their first and primary language, and they should be able to access information in that language. I'd love to see more museums featuring sign language interpretation in their videos. Of course, this is by no means a substitute for captions, as many people who use captions cannot sign, and there are hundreds of sign languages - a British Sign Language interpreter won't be very helpful for a tourist who only uses German Sign Language.
Image description: a still image of a video with an interpreter at the side.
'Interactivity' isn't always accessible
Making museums more interactive is great, especially for kids. But if I can only access the information by lifting up a flap or moving something, it's not accessible. My arms get tired, and the things that need to be move are often uncomfortably high up. There has to be another way to access the information that doesn't rely on physical ability. I'd also love to see the option to engage with interactive features via low-down, large size buttons which can more easily be pushed by someone with less mobility in their arms or by a service dog.
Image description: a display in a museum where information is behind flaps which have to be lifted.
'Access tools aren't cheap, so let us borrow them!
The final thing I'd like to see museums do is have more access tools available to borrow. Wheelchairs, magnifying glasses, noise-cancelling headphones and sunglasses can all be important access tools which people may not be able to afford themselves or might just forget to bring from home. Before I could access my own wheelchair, borrowing one from museums I visited was the only way I could access museums without lots of pain.
What makes museums accessible for you?
There are so many different factors to be considered when designing accessible museums, and I'm sure I've missed a lot of things in this article. Let me know what your ideal museum would look like!
Image description: a row of standard wheelchairs to borrow at a museum.