Parcours Essentiel

The “parcours Essentiel” (Essential tour) in the Musée National de la Marine, is a route of 8 table stations in the permanent exhibition. Each station is focused on an object of the collections, and is made up of :

• a tactile model of the object/tool, or part of it
• a braille label
• audiodescription content ( aimed at both visually impaired and non visually impaired visitors)
• a touchscreen with notches and braille indications, to make content available to all
• 2 stools for the visitors. Stools are mobile and can be moved to give space to a wheelchair user

Each station is also at a height accessible for wheelchair users or children.

This case study is a great example of a way to implement universal accessibility.

Stations are conceived to have content that can be accessed by all, rather than creating specific contents or tools accessible only for one type of visitor. A non-visually impaired visitor can explore the tactile model and listen to the audio description as much as a visually impaired visitor.

It is a strong choice to make the main mediation device accessible for all, rather than creating a separate route for disabled visitors, with separate content. As visitors with disability can follow the exact same tour as others, this favours the feeling of inclusion.

This approach to inclusion is not the most common in cultural places, and it is a good example to have in mind in order to think inclusion differently.

Universal accessibility

Mediation devices including a physical station with a screen and tactile models

• Agence Polymorphe Design
• Squintopera

Museum’s internal budget for its new museography

This project can be difficult to replicate from a financial point of view. However, all ideas are fairly easily to replicate individually, and it is possible to recreate this principle on a smaller scale, by making smaller stations, with only on or two of the devices.

While no formal study exists yet, the museum received mostly positive feedback regarding this route from their visitors. A limitation worth noting/thinking regarding universal accessibility: since the stations/tools are addressed to all, visitors with disabilities cannot claim priority in using the devices, though they are accessible to them.