Making Natural History Exhibits Multi-Sensory; Improving Learning for Disabled Visitors

波士顿科学博物馆提议对其永久的新英格兰野生动物区展厅进行重大修改，以提高其对视力、听力或行动不便的游客的有效性。他们将记录并与其他博物馆分享在展览开发过程中使用的成功方法和技术，这是一项努力，旨在改善全国600多家科学和自然历史博物馆的无障碍通道。在残疾人顾问的帮助下，博物馆完成了初步的需求评估，针对大厅现有立体模型的可达性和有效性有限的问题，开发了替代设计解决方案，并组织了一个设计团队，其中包括资深博物馆展览和教育人员以及残疾科学家和教育家作为共同负责人。麻省艺术学院的适应性环境中心将为残疾人设计提供帮助，评估工作将在莱斯利学院项目评估和研究小组负责人乔治·海因的指导下进行。经过广泛的设计和评估过程，将建造新的展览单元，作为现有立体模型大厅的教育辅助，并评估变化的影响。作为一项传播计划的一部分，该计划将包括在科学技术中心协会和美国科学促进会的协助下，向科学博物馆展览设计师分发大众和专业论文以及一本“如何”工作手册。这是一个具有挑战性的项目，有机会对残疾人产生重大影响，因为他们经常被不必要的设计限制排除在科学和自然历史博物馆的动机和信息资源之外。科学博物馆的责任感很强，项目工作人员素质很高，残疾人也积极参与到项目中来。

The Museum of Science in Boston proposes a major modification of its permanent New England Wildlife Zones exhibition hall in order to improve its effectiveness with visitors with impaired sight, hearing, or mobility. They will document and share with other museums the successful methods and techniques used in the exhibition development process is an effort to improve barrier free access in the country's more than 600 science and natural history museums. The museum has completed a preliminary needs assessment with the assistance of handicapped consultants, developed alternative design solutions to problems of limited accessibility and effectiveness for the hall's existing dioramas, and organized a design team that includes senior museum exhibition and education staff and a handicapped scientist and educator as Co-PI. The Massachusetts College of Art's Adaptive Environments Center will provide assistance in design for the handicapped and evaluation will be under the direction of George Hein, head of Lesley College's Program Evaluatlion and Research Group. Following an extensive design and evaluation process, new exhibit units will be constructed as educational adjuncts to the existing hall of dioramas, and the impact of the changes will be assessed, as part of a dissemination plan that will include popular and professional papers and a "how to" work book distributed to science museum exhibit designers with the assistance of the Association of Science Technology Centers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This is a challenging project with the opportunity for a significant impact on handicapped individuals who are often excluded from the motivational and informational resources of science and natural history museums by unnecessary design limitations. The Museum of Science's commitment is strong, the project staff are highly qualified, and there is active participation by handicapped individuals in the project.