A University of Canberra researcher has been investigating innovative new ways for blind and vision-impaired people to experience museum art and sculptures.

One of the barriers to experience for vision-impaired museum visitors is the ability to experience artefacts using other senses besides touch – historical items are typically protected inside glass cases or behind exhibition ropes.

Beaux Guarini, PhD student from the University of Canberra, and his team has 3D-printed replicas of old museum artefacts, bringing tactile experiences for the vision-impaired. The researchers invited people with good eyesight to wear blindness goggles at a University of Canberra pop-up museum to experience how the process could work. The concept is being extended to provide a full sensory experience including smells and sounds, not just limited to touch.

Museums in Australia have since expressed interest in this incredible research. The team are working alongside a number of Australian institutions, exploring how museum curators can digitally fabricate artefacts to better accommodate the aspirations of people with vision impairment.

[img source] The University of Canberra
The above story is based on materials provided by the University of Canberra