'Sensational thinking’ – engaging all senses to design museums for everyone

Professor Hannah Thompson from the Department Of Languages, Literatures and Cultures has dedicated the last two years to establishing The Sensational Museum, a project designed to improve accessibility in museums.

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Did you know that there are approximately 16 million disabled people living in the UK, almost a quarter of the population? This enormous amount of people are all navigating a world that was not designed with them in mind. The world of museums is an especially overlooked area, which sparked an idea in Professor Hannah Thompson. She has dedicated the last two years to establishing The Sensational Museum, a project designed to improve accessibility in museums.

“Museums are very sight-dependent places,” says Hannah, “but many people want or need to access and process information in ways that are not only – or not entirely – visual.” She goes on to explain how she imagines a museum experience playing to whichever senses work best for you. “The Sensational Museum aims to give all visitors inclusive, engaging, enjoyable and memorable experiences.”

Hannah is partially blind, and she remembers very clearly how much of a struggle it was for her to enjoy museums when she was younger. These experiences inspired her to work with colleagues and contacts from across the museum sector to create the project. The focus was on two main areas – how museums manage their archives and collections, and how the stories behind objects are communicated to the public.

The project embodies the meaning of the word ‘sensational’, using familiar senses such as hearing and touch as well as more unusual ones like temperature and balance to create new exhibits that as many people as possible can enjoy. The project involved ten museums as part of the pilot scheme and seven of these museums have developed new interactive exhibits.

'The Family Home Lost to Time' brings to life the site of William Shakespeare’s New Place through the earthy, charcoal scent of the fireplace, the rough texture of the wall coverings, and the shapes of different household objects. Visitors can also explore the exhibit by audio description, which is now also available across the site.

At the Keswick Museum, ‘Crafting the Landscape’ follows the journey of a piece of metalwork, using a tactile map of the area, pieces of copper ore and live moss as well as audio description.

Hannah said: “I am confident that the project has made museum professionals and visitors think about the senses in new ways. We have produced a range of tools that will continue to support the heritage sector to improve how museums work for everyone and I look forward to visiting more inclusive museums in years to come.”

This project was a collaboration between academics from Royal Holloway, the University of Leicester, the University of Lincoln, and the University of Westminster, with funding from the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council. The 10 museums in the pilot were: