Museums across the UK are planning a range of events and activities this weekend to mark the second annual Disabled Access Day.
The nationwide initiative, which takes place on Saturday 12 March, aims to encourage disabled people to explore places they have not visited before in a welcoming setting.
The event also aims to give venues an opportunity to showcase their existing good practice and think creatively about how they can improve accessibility for disabled visitors.
In Yorkshire, Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust is running an open day and conference featuring a range of activities and talks for visitors of all ages and abilities.
Taking place at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield, the programme of activities includes an autism-friendly hour, storytelling with puppets and British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, touch and BSL tours of the museum, and stalls run by a number of disabled access groups.
The museum will also host a range of talks on subjects such as inclusive design principles, improving access for disabled children, becoming a dementia-friendly museum, and understanding the experiences of visually impaired visitors.
Leeds City Museum is running an open day for disabled visitors, which will include a sensory zone, object handling sessions and tactile crafts.
Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums is running a number of events, including free guided tours for disabled people at several venues. The Discovery Museum will also showcase a new tactile exhibit for people with profound learning disabilities.
The National Waterfront Museum in Cardiff is offering an audio descriptive tour for visitors who are blind or partially sighted, followed by an object handling session with free refreshments.
In London, the Royal Air Force Museum is running a range of activities for disabled visitors, including try-on sessions using world war two RAF uniforms, arts and craft workshops, and a silent cinema showing archive footage of aircraft in action.
Bethlem Museum of the Mind in Beckenham, which opened last year, is hosting drop-in consultations to give disabled people the opportunity to offer feedback and advice on how to make the museum as accessible as possible.
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is marking the day with object handling sessions, BSL and live audio description tours at a number of its sites.
“We've had fantastic uptake from museums across the UK this Disabled Access Day, with over 55 museums and galleries signing up to take part in the day and put on a range of exciting events,” said Disabled Access Day manager Lauren Pluss.
“It's a great day for museums to start conversations with people about access, try out new activities or events themselves and promote what they're already doing in terms of accessibility.”
The nationwide initiative, which takes place on Saturday 12 March, aims to encourage disabled people to explore places they have not visited before in a welcoming setting.
The event also aims to give venues an opportunity to showcase their existing good practice and think creatively about how they can improve accessibility for disabled visitors.
In Yorkshire, Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust is running an open day and conference featuring a range of activities and talks for visitors of all ages and abilities.
Taking place at Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield, the programme of activities includes an autism-friendly hour, storytelling with puppets and British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation, touch and BSL tours of the museum, and stalls run by a number of disabled access groups.
The museum will also host a range of talks on subjects such as inclusive design principles, improving access for disabled children, becoming a dementia-friendly museum, and understanding the experiences of visually impaired visitors.
Leeds City Museum is running an open day for disabled visitors, which will include a sensory zone, object handling sessions and tactile crafts.
Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums is running a number of events, including free guided tours for disabled people at several venues. The Discovery Museum will also showcase a new tactile exhibit for people with profound learning disabilities.
The National Waterfront Museum in Cardiff is offering an audio descriptive tour for visitors who are blind or partially sighted, followed by an object handling session with free refreshments.
In London, the Royal Air Force Museum is running a range of activities for disabled visitors, including try-on sessions using world war two RAF uniforms, arts and craft workshops, and a silent cinema showing archive footage of aircraft in action.
Bethlem Museum of the Mind in Beckenham, which opened last year, is hosting drop-in consultations to give disabled people the opportunity to offer feedback and advice on how to make the museum as accessible as possible.
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is marking the day with object handling sessions, BSL and live audio description tours at a number of its sites.
“We've had fantastic uptake from museums across the UK this Disabled Access Day, with over 55 museums and galleries signing up to take part in the day and put on a range of exciting events,” said Disabled Access Day manager Lauren Pluss.
“It's a great day for museums to start conversations with people about access, try out new activities or events themselves and promote what they're already doing in terms of accessibility.”
