Enhancing knowledge and learning about examples of good practice in accessibility

At the Slovenian School Museum, we develop high-quality programmes for vulnerable groups based on undergoing training and learning about examples of good practice. This year, we have worked on the ‘Support for vulnerable groups’ project, focusing on accessibility at local, national and international levels.

In spring, we visited the Museum of Apiculture in Radovljica and the Slovene Ethnographic Museum in Ljubljana where we learned about various accessibility adaptations. We shared our knowledge at the presentation of the Braille alphabet and sign language at the recently opened Museum of Slovenian Language and Books.

In September, we visited the Typhlological Museum in Zagreb, where we experienced a guided tour as blind people would. Our colleagues Polona Koželj and Anton Arko attended a trial workshop, during which a blind guide took a group of blindfolded, otherwise seeing visitors around the exhibition.

This unique experience of exploring new spaces and content without a key organ of sense – sight – enhances our understanding of how the blind and partially-sighted experience the world. We gained new insights into how museums can improve accessibility. This was followed by an evaluation of the trial workshop with Mrs Vouk Nikolić, a curator at the Typhlological Museum.

Participating in a trial workshop at the Typhlological Museum in Zagreb. Photo: Vouk Nikolić