Letting The Blind Man See... : An Investigation Into Methods and an Evaluation to Improve Accessibility in Swedish Museum Exhibits for the Visually Impaired

Abstract: The museum world is in a time of great change, many of the changes focus on the accessibility of museums. In Sweden these changes are becoming more apparent as the new museum law that has been passed advocates for equal museum experience for all visitors whether they have any for of impairment or not. To encourage this change a few older law and regulations that Swedish museums are also subject to are receiving more attention. That is why this research project focuses on how accessible museum exhibits in Sweden are for the visually impaired, while also comparing and evaluating different methods used to make exhibits more accessible. Prior methods used to make exhibits more accessible for people with visual impairments from around the world have been researched to see what may be useful, in Swedish museum exhibits. Several specialists’ from inside and outside the museum world have been interviewed so as to provide relevant information on what type of changes would be most beneficial to a museum exhibit to make it more accessible for people with partial to no vision. A small research project has also been done to see how accessible several museums through Scania in Sweden are for people with various form of disabilities. The main segment of this paper focuses on an evaluation of methods to increase accessibility for people with visual impairments used in a temporary exhibit at Trelleborg’s Museum. These methods have been evaluated using qualitative research methods, such as observations, questionnaires and group interviews. The data was gathered using a test group comprised primarily of people with various levels of visual impairments and a control group meant to represent “regular” museum visitors. The conclusion of this research project is that new methods to make museum exhibits accessible for the visually impaired are constantly being invented, making methods that may seem too expensive and difficult to use much more efficient in the future. The most important points to remember when making new methods are, tactile experiences are needed, a good audio guide and making it easy to navigate for the visually impaired.