Muséo+ is a visit application developed for deaf children aged 8 to 12. In fact, it’s much more than that, as it’s been “designed for all”. Its aim is to enable visitors with different needs to enjoy their visit to the museum to the full. Let’s find out how!
The creation project brought together :
- An association, Signes de Sens, in charge of managing the project. The original aim of this association was to make culture and learning methods accessible to deaf people. It has gradually broadened its scope to include all forms of disability.
- A museum, responsible for writing the content
- A university, responsible for evaluation
- Technical subcontractors
Financing the project
The project was financed both privately and publicly, through fund-raising and an application to a French Ministry of Culture project entitled “Innovative digital services” (“Services numériques innovants”).
Design for all
Signes de Sens aims to develop accessibility tools designed for everyone, as certain solutions can meet different specific needs. Muséo+ can be used by any child, with or without a physical or cognitive disability.
The application presents different types of content, such as:
- Videos
- Interactive games
- Plain language
- Sign language videos
- Subtitles
- Voice-overs
- 2D animation
Interactive games allow children to make choices and manipulate, which, according to several studies, improves learning.
Only a few works of art have been analyzed to make them fully accessible. All cultural references have been made accessible through a variety of examples.
As evaluation methods for visitor studies are very rare for disabled people, particularly deaf visitors, new tools have been developed to understand how children appropriate Muséo+ content.
The evaluation was carried out using a qualitative method. A test group used the application, while a control group followed a guided tour in sign language.
Results
Children are more independent and interact more with each other than on a traditional guided tour.
Even if the works of art take a back seat to the interactive games, the evaluation shows that they learn more than children following a guided tour in sign language.
Design for all outside the cultural institutions
The first cultural institution to order Muséo+ was the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille. Signes de Sens then adapted the concept to the Roman Forum at Bavay. The association has developed a kit entitled Muséo Out, designed for off-site activities in schools, hospitals and so on. It was designed with a view to hire educators with cognitive disabilities. In this way, design for all also aims to help disabled people find their place in society.