July 2021 – MuseumSenses

The National Park Service (NPS) has finally acknowledged that there are issues with the size and spacing of the Braille Carved into the Walls of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This update is posted on the accessibility page for the FDR Memorial.

Here is part of their statement.

“The artists used elements of Braille in several of the sculptures, but the size and spacing is inconsistent and was only meant to be an artistic representation.”

And “The Braille in Room 2 on the bas relief panels are the different New Deal program acronyms, but larger than life and disjointed. Those that read Braille will find them difficult to decipher.”

I documented problems with size and spacing of Braille in a report commissioned by the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee.

Here is my description of the Braille.

“The Braille ranges from somewhat readable to completely unrecognizable. This includes the quote in the Prologue Room and the letters on the workers mural and the quotes on the columns in Room One. My assessment is based on two facts: differences in horizontal and vertical spacing, and contrasts in raised versus indented dots.”

Although the NPS did not credit my report, I am glad that the agency recognized that the Braille is abstract and artistic. This is a small step towards improving accessibility at the FDR Memorial.

It is important to note that the NPS published this site update on July 26, 2021, the 31st Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Also on that day, the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee held a public ceremony commemorating the ADA and honored disability leaders past and present, especially those who fought to add the wheelchair statue to the FDR Memorial. Two speakers at the event, Senator Tammy Duckworth and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton sponsored a Resolution calling on the NPS to improve accessibility at the FDR Memorial. Senator Tammy Duckworth discussed the problems with the Braille in her speech.

Kym Hall, National Capital Area Director, National Park Service also spoke at this ceremony. Director Hall did not mention the Braille, but she talked about audio described tours and other accessibility improvements.

I found the updated text about the Braille when I was on the FDR Memorial accessibility webpage looking for the audio described tour.

Dr. Fogle Hatch touches a column in the Memorial with her left hand. She holds a white cane in her right hand.

I submitted the following text as a poster for the American Alliance of Museums conference #AAAM2021, held online on May 24 and June 7-9 2021. The poster was behind the paywall until July 14 2021, and now I am publishing it for everyone to read.

In Their Own Words: Adults Who Are Blind Describe Museums

Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, Ph.D. and Don Winiecki, Ph.D. Ed.D.

audio description (18)

audio (5)

boring (2)

braille and tactile graphics (1)

braille tactile exhibits (1)

braille (3)

can touch (2)

can’t access independently (1)

can’t participate (1)

can’t touch (2)

disappointing (1)

dislike planning visit in advance (1)

doesn’t ask companions to read (2)

enjoy (9)

enjoys visiting with friends (1)

explore (1)

frustrating (2)

fun (1)

goes with family (1)

hands-on (2)

hard to navigate (2)

improving (1)

inaccessible (27)

information (3)

inspiring (1)

interactive (1)

interesting (2)

kids museums hands-on (1)

learn (6)

love (3)

most information is in print (1)

multisensory (2)

need more audio Braille tactile (4)

need more braille exhibits (1)

need more tactile replicas (1)

need sighted person to read (5)

no audio (1)

noise makes hearing audio difficult (1)

objects (1)

por lighting (4)

pre-recorded audio guide (2)

rely on others (2)

science and kids museums encourage tactile access (1)

small print (4)

tactile art (3)

tactile experience (10)

tactile materials (1)

tactile models (6)

tactile replicas (2)

tactile representation (1)

tactile representations of the real thing (1)

teach my children (1)

took a sighted child (1)

tour guide (3)

under glass (9)

valuable (1)

visits with group (2)

waste of time (1)

wonderful (1)

This word cloud was created at TagCrowd.com.

Background

This poster expands on findings reported by Fogle-Hatch and Winiecki (2020). Assessing Attitudes of Blind Adults About Museums. The word cloud pictured above highlights words and phrases from comments on an international survey of adults who are blind or have low vision. We conducted an online survey receiving 124 responses from June to October 2018. We asked a series of questions about the last museum visit made by a survey participant. Then we encouraged survey respondents to comment on museums generally.

Findings

Each comment was coded thematically. Most comments were classified as both positive and negative. Positive codes signify strong relationships between personal enjoyment of the exhibits and design features that facilitated accessibility. Examples:

• tactile models, tactile replicas, tactile graphics

• braille, This code includes comments about brochures and signs.

• audio description, Sometimes This code referred to tour guides and docents, and at other times to pre-recorded audio.

Emotional keywords: “enjoy” “learn” “valuable”.

Negative codes focused on instances when participants could not access exhibits independently. Examples:

• need a sighted person to read, This code refers to print labels and describing exhibits.

• under glass, this code also includes the phrase “behind glass”.

• inaccessible, This code includes variations “lacks access” and “not accessible”.

Emotional keywords “boring”, “disappointing”, “frustrating”

Conclusion

These data underscore the value of accessible museum exhibits that allow everyone to enjoy their museum visits. Positive comments referenced the availability of tactile experiences (models, replicas, graphics), and braille and audio descriptions. The lack of tactile, braille, or audio components in exhibits was common in negative comments. The Survey participants valued museums despite the consensus that most exhibit content is inaccessible.

About the Authors

Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, Ph.D. designs multisensory experiences. Visit her website MuseumSenses mailto:info@museumsenses.org.

Don Winiecki, Ph.D. Ed.D., is a professor of ethics and morality in professional practice at the Boise State University, College of Engineering, mailto: dwiniecki@boisestate.edu