A sensory interpretative journey by Natasha Barrett

Kia ora (a traditional Māori greeting), my name is Natasha Barrett and I’m Museum Studies PhD student from the University of Leicester (AHRC Midlands 3 Cities funded). My research is about colonial-era photographs (1860s-1914) of Māori, the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. I have been discovering how these photographs have been understood and used over time by both Māori and non-Māori. This includes within and outside of British museums. I approach photographs as three-dimensional physical objects. They can as my research shows, reflect social connections amongst communities and with institutions around the world holding photographic collections.

A few months ago, as part of my PhD fieldwork, I met up with Dr Kate Allen at the British Museum. Despite our projects seeming quite dissimilar, there were many parallels, which were helpful for my research. For example, groups of people (and individuals) understand the world in very different ways and all are equally valid. The challenge for those of us working in museums is to try and understand this. We then need to create space for alternative ways of explaining objects. Sensory Labels fully and cleverly achieves this.

Kate gave me a tour around the Enlightenment Gallery with a few of the Sensory Labels. Having recently found out I am dyslexic, I was also personally interested to experience interpretation that does not use text. I was immediately struck by the wonder of the experience and sat with the labels on the gallery floor listening, smelling, touching, smiling and laughing. Through the labels I entered into the stories of the creators – the personal associations, meanings and memories that the objects in the gallery held for them. Each Sensory Label is highly unique, beautifully crafted and reflects the creator’s personality. By the end, I felt I had ‘virtually’ met a fascinating group of people who had enriched my experience of the gallery.

nb_with_ryan_burns_sl

nb_with_ryan_burns_sensory label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The author listening to Ryan Burns’ Sensory Label, 2016. Photograph courtesy of Dr Kate Allen.

ryan_burns_sl_lasercut_photo_low_res

Ryan Burns Sensory Label laser cut photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ryan Burns’ Sensory Label showing his laser cut photograph, 2016. Photograph by Natasha Barrett.

The labels, many of which include miniature versions of the displayed objects, emphasise the sense of touch. Usually in galleries you can only imagine what touching the objects behind glass might be like. Sam Walker’s use of a real shell and Judith Appiah’s carefully crafted Nigerian slipper let you experience the feel of the objects – their texture, shape and smell. Far from being just interpretative devices, Sensory Labels are also fascinating objects in their own right. Not only did they hold my attention but they drew in other people in the gallery, including one of the museum guides. We had a fascinating discussion about snakes in the Hindu religion, as a result of Katy Woollard’s snake themed label. This is, as Kate and I discussed, the power of the Sensory Labels. They create opportunities for conversations and let people share knowledge and diverse perspectives.

sam_walker_sl_shell_low_res

Sam Walker’s sensory label shell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam Walker’s Sensory Label with shell on/off switch, 2016. Photograph by Natasha Barrett.

Afterwards Kate and I meet with George Oates from Museum in a Box. I had noticed the similarities between the projects and was intrigued to discuss this further. Both use box formats and readily available low-tech electronics systems. These are easy to use and focus on the non-visual senses (e.g. touch and sound). They encourage people to interact or do something with the objects to make something else happen. Might these devices offer an alternative way of interpreting photographs? Far from being just pictures, we interact with photographs using our emotions and senses. Just think about the photographs in your own house, particularly those of your loved ones. What do they mean to you, and how you display and interact with them? They might make us laugh and cry, and beyond just looking, we touch and respond to photographs in a variety of ways. However this is not how photographs are usually interpreted and displayed in museums. Instead photographs are simply used as images to illustrate historical events and show what people looked like (a form of visual evidence).

Although Sensory Labels and Museum in a Box are not currently being used to interpret photographs, I can see great potential for this. For example, the laser cut photographs of the creators on the Sensory Labels suggests the way we tend to touch photographs. Touch is important in Māori culture and this technology creates a way of experiencing photographs through the fingertips. Sound is also significant for Māori and with both systems photographs could be used to activate the sound of Māori elders talking. This would give them the opportunity to talk about their ancestors, cultural treasures (known as taonga) and the places shown in the photographs. Themed packs of photographs could also be put together and used as George noted, as a way of ‘returning’ photographs (and the knowledge they hold) of people, places and cultural objects to their communities.

sl_and_mib_low_res

sensory labels and museum in a box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Museum in a Box (foreground) and Sensory Labels (background), 2016. Photograph by Natasha Barrett.

Experiences in museum still tend to rely on looking at and seeing objects. Opportunities for using our other senses, especially with photographs, are still not common. Also, whilst the voices of ordinary people are now heard in museums, these are still often shaped by institutions. Both Sensory Labels and Museum in a Box give people the freedom to express things in their own way. Using low cost systems, they place the power of object interpretation outside of the museum. However, these systems are flexible and can also used within museums. I look forward to seeing how these projects develop in the future!

 

Researcher experiences Sensory Labels: Focus on Ryan’s Label

Museum Studies PhD researcher Natasha Barrett contacted us to ask if she could experience some of our Sensory Labels created for the Enlightenment Gallery in the British Museum. Natasha is interested in exploring photograph with all our senses.

Natasha with Ryans Box

Natasha with Ryan’s Box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Natasha introduced me to George Oates from Museum in a Box  we found we had lots of things in common creating sensory experiences for museums.

Museum in a Box1

Museum in a Box1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I brought some Sensory Labels made by our co-researchers from the Tower Project to the Enlightenment Gallery, for Natasha to try, Ryan Burns Chinese plate inspired label was a particular favourite. Below are images from Ryan’s Wiki Pages developing his label and sharing it with the public. There is also a video of Ryan’s Sensory Label in action so you can hear what everyone was listening to in the pictures. The smell Ryan chose was a floral perfume that reminded him of his Nan. Ryan’s drawing and his photograph was laser etched into the surface of the label.

Here are pictures from Ryan’s Wiki showing the development of his sensory label as documented by him. The plate Ryan made from air hardening clay as his response to the ones in the Enlightenment Gallery, broke. This gave Ryan the idea to have the sound of breaking ceramics on his sound track, he also found some Chinese Opera to add to his soundscape.

Ryans Diary Making Label

Ryan’s Diary Making Label

Ryans Diary Showing Label

Ryan’s Diary Showing Label

Award winning Sensory Labels of the Enlightenment Gallery returns for Half Term at The British Museum

Our Co-researchers from Tower Project ‘Sensory Labels of the Enlightenment Gallery’ was such a hit earlier in the year we were invited back by The British Museum as a half term activity. The museum was packed with visitors, Tower Project did an excellent job engaging old and young with their work and we had a brilliant response from the public. Below are some pictures from the day.

Group around table

Group around table

Listening to Judiths box

Listening to Judiths box

Justin in group

Justin in group

Kelly demos her label

Kelly demos her label

Sam demos Label

Sam demos Label

smelling Justin’s label

smelling Justin’s label

We also showed off our  Design for All Foundation Award Trophy and Certificate that were were awarded at a ceremony in Paris in Jan 2015 for our Co-researchers from Tower Project Sensory Labels at The British Museum. It was the first time all the group had seen the Trophy and Certificate. Below are the Tower Project with their Sensory Labels, Trophy and Certificate in The British Museums Great Court.

Tower with Trophy and Cert

Tower with Trophy and Cert

 

The images below show closeups of the Design for All Foundation Award Trophy and Certificate 2015.

Design for All Foundation Certificate

Design for All Foundation Certificate

Design for All Foundation Trophy

Design for All Foundation Trophy

Sensory Labels Showcase Day in The Enlightenment Gallery at The British Museum 11.02.15

Sensory Objects co-researchers from The Tower Project created a set of 12 labels you could look at touch, listen to and smell based on objects in the Enlightenment Gallery . These Sensory Labels were then enthusiastically and confidently presented  to the public by our co-researchers during 2015. Each Sensory Label was created as an alternative piece of interpretation for an object chosen by our co-researchers  thinking about sensory information.

This work was awarded the Design For All Foundation Award Trophy in 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows the 12 Sensory Objects Co-researchers from the Tower Project and supporters during one of the sessions.

Group shot of Sensory Object Researchers

Group shot of Sensory Object Researchers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The response was fantastic with many positive reactions expressed to us, collected on feedback forms, recordings, written on twitter. We were invited to present the Sensory Labels during half term.

The picture below shows Sam showing Chalkwell School the Sensory Labels.

Lots of Tweets document the day

Lots of Tweets document the day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the day colleagues from RIX research created a live wiki page and filmed to make us a video of the event and seminar. The picture below shows Andy and Sam updating the Wiki.

Andy and Sam wiki and shells

Andy and Sam wiki and shells

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows a screen grab of Kelly and Adalana’s wiki diary entries for the Showcase you can read more diaries and our co researchers thoughts on our co-researchers wiki

Kelly’s Diary of the showcse day

Kelly’s Diary of the showcse day

Adalana diary of Showcase Day

Adalana diary of Showcase Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many of Orson Nava’s great photos captured the day for us, the picture below shows Adalana showing her Sensory Label to a museum visitor, he was smelling a lovely perfume, listening to the sound of crystals and diamonds.  Adalana discovered that the diamond she had chosen had been removed from the Enlightenment Collection but her Sensory Label gave people an idea of the missing diamond.

Adalana shows her Sensory Label to visitor

Adalana shows her Sensory Label to visitor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below show the texture of Ashley’s label being felt. Ashley chose a stuffed Golden Pheasent as his object. He had sounds of the bird call which were very effective and loud, his smell was oranges.

Ashley shows Kassie his Sensory Label

Ashley shows Kassie his Sensory Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sensory Labels were enjoyed by all ages, the picture below shows shows Sam demonstrating her Sensory Label of a shell that reminded Sam of her mum living by the sea.

Sam demos sensory labels

Sam demos sensory labels

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture below shows feeling the texture of Sam’s Sensory Label, the smell was a smell of seaside.

Sam demos sensory Label

Sam demos sensory Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture below shows Judith with school group trying her Sensory Label of a leather African slipper. Sounds are triggered by bending a leather slipper she had made with a bend sensor embedded in the sole. The smell of the Sensory Label was leather.

Judith shows school group

Judith shows school group

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows listening to Kelly’s Sensory Label telling the story of the statue of Paris. There were sounds of fighting, rain and the smell was aftershave.

More listening to Kellys box

More listening to Kellys box

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two pictures below shows visitors with Ryan and his Sensory Label about two Chinese plates that reminded him of his nan. The box smell was roses and the sounds were smashing plates and Chinese opera.

Ryan demos sensory labels

Ryan demos sensory labels

Listening to Ryans Sesnory Label

Listening to Ryans Sesnory Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures below show Tim demonstrating his Sensory Label based on a miniature Egyptian Mummy. Tim’s label has sounds of Egyptian music, camels and the safety instructions given by air stewards at the start of a flight. Tim had drawn a plane for his label as it reminded him of going to visit Egypt on a plane. Tim’s box smell was Egyptian perfume.

Tim showing his sensory label

Tim showing his sensory label

 Listening Tim’s Sensory Label

Listening Tim’s Sensory Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows Michael showing his Sensory Label based on a large bowl that he researched an found out it was a wine cooler. Michel imagined eating Chicken and Chips in this giant bowl. His label smell was Vinegar and the sounds were of eating, slurping, frying and cereal being poured into a bowl.

Michael demos his sensory label

Michael demos his sensory label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows a visitor smelling the smell of beer and cheese and onion crisps, as Justin described it the “smell of success” in his Sensory Label. The picture below also shows the Warwick Vase, Justin’s chosen object, which reminded him of the FA cup and his love of Liverpool Football team. The sound for his label was a montage of football commentaries about Liverpool.

Justin’s Sensory Label

Justin’s Sensory Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows Justin’s Sensory Label proving a hit with a visitor.

Justins box a Hit

Justins box a Hit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows a visitor listening to another football fan, Julie chose a Heron from the collection because it reminded her of the Tottenham Hotspur Football cockerel logo. The sound track included the sound of a Blue Heron fishing in a lake, Julie making a tweet sound and singing with the Tottenham Hotspur team song. Julie’s Sensory Label smell was fish! which was a bit of a surprise for many.

Julie and her Sensory Label

Julie and her Sensory Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows a visitor smelling the sea in Adjoa’s Sensory Label. Adjoa chose a coral because she likes the sea. The sounds Adjoa chose were the sea and Handel’s Water Music.

Smelling Adojas Label

Smelling Adojas Label

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pictures below show Katy’s sensory label, Katy’s object was a snake. Katy wanted her label to have a snake being charmed out of it’s basket, the sound is snake charming music and she wanted the smell of grass. The label has a light sensor embedded so when you open the lid the light triggers the snake to move slowly up. The light levels in the Enlightenment Gallery proved just too low for the sensor to work so we used a torch, which proved to create great engagement for the visitor.

All at table

Katy and her Sensory Label

Katy and Mark charm the snake

Katy and Mark charm the snake

 

A charming the snake

A charming the snake

Katys box snake being charmed

Katy’s snake being charmed with light from a torch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows the phone sound box containing all 12 co-researcher sounds, the smell is Cadbury’s Chocolate the smell chosen to celebrate Sir Hans Sloane and his addition of milk to Drinking Chocolate.

The collected sounds phone box

The collected sounds phone box

 

Matt and Andy try phone box

Matt and Andy try phone box

Listening to sounds on phone

Listening to sounds on phone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The picture below shows Julie and Michael discussing their labels with Jane Samuels at the time the The British Museums Access and Equality Manager.Julie Michael and Jane

 

 

 

The Aura of a Sensory Object by Matthew Goodsell

The Aura of a Sensory Object

In the writing of Walter Benjamin, we find the concept of the ‘aura’, a special distancing or abstraction certain objects have. He describes it as ”the unique phenomenon of a distance, however close it may be”, going on to explain ”If, while resting on a summer afternoon, you follow with your eyes a mountain range on the horizon or a branch which casts its shadow over you, you experience the aura of those mountains, of that branch.” It is a remoteness, an eery foreignness. Benjamin was, of course, dealing with the photograph; pictures may also have a punctic effect, to use Barthes‘ term, wounding the viewer in a way he cannot quite articulate. That which is special to some appears ordinary to others, and thus to some have an aura.

It is this disconnect in perception that interests us. For a person with learning difficulties, an object may have a value or significance others cannot fathom. The person cannot say why the object is significant, and this causes a difference in perception we might call a type of aura. The person to whom the object is significant may see the tree, yet can only tell others of the shadow. It is through these objects, whose significance may be hidden from us, that we are left to reconstruct the discourse of learning disability history. Inasmuch as it is, in part, shrouded from us because it cannot be articulated as it usually would be, it is an auric discourse. We who observe from without are distanced from it, yet are fascinated to explore this mysterious terrain.

In effect these objects have a contingent: an extra specialness or relevance that the owner cannot articulate. This may explain their fixation. This is not a fetishisation in the usual sense, where an object or detail is fixated upon for unconscious reasons which go beyond articulation and can only be explored through psychoanalysis; the persons inability to explain his or her attraction is due to other factors, yet the result is exactly the same. In both cases, the reasons behind the attraction cannot be rendered in the symbolic.

You can read more of Matts writing on his blog HERE. The picture below shows Matt experiencing Sam’s Sensory Label during the Sensory Objects Showcase at The British Museum.

Matt with Sam’s Sensory Label

Matt with Sam’s Sensory Label

Tower Project at the RIX centre Session Sixteen 04.02.15

The picture below shows the Easy Read programme for session sixteen.

Tower Project Session SIXTEEN.doc

Tower Project Session SIXTEEN

The picture below shows our co-researchers adding smells to their Sensory Labels.

Group at work putting smells in Sensory Labels

Group at work putting smells in Sensory Labels

Then they practiced showing the Sensory Labels to the public, Luke the RIX new intern from Pennsylvania agreed to be our audience as he knew little about the project. He soon found out about everyones object and label! The picture below show Kelly show Luke her Sensory Label based on the statue of Paris in the Enlightenment Gallery.

Kelly demos her Sensory Label

Kelly demos her Sensory Label

The picture below shows Ryan demoing his  Sensory Label.

Ryan demos label

Ryan demos label

The picture below shows Michael showing Lukc his Sensory Label.

Michaels sensory label

Michaels sensory label

The picture below shows Justin demonstrating his Sensory Label

Justin and Sensory Label

Justin and Sensory Label

The picture below shows Judith trying the Phone box that contains all the sound tracks of the Tower Group

Judith tests box

Judith with here sensory label trying the joint sound box

Tower Project Showcase Event at The British Museum on Wednesday 11th February in The Enlightenment Gallery 11am – 3pm

Members of the Sensory Objects research project invite you to try out their newly developed interactive Sensory Labels of selected objects in the Enlightenment Gallery at The British Museum on Wednesday 11th February in The Enlightenment Gallery 11am – 3pm.

These Sensory Labels have been co-developed by people with learning difficulties and disabilities from the Tower Project London, working as co-researchers; they form part of an interdisciplinary team from The University of Reading and RIX Research and Media at the University of East London.

The Sensory Objects project creates multisensory interactive artworks that respond to museum collections and generate alternative ideas for museum interpretation. The image below is a poster containing this text, advertising the event.

POSTER TOWER PROJECT SHOWCASE EVENT

POSTER TOWER PROJECT SHOWCASE EVENT

The image below is the easy read programme for the Showcase Event Day.

 Event invite BRITISH MUSEUM Easy Read

Event invite BRITISH MUSEUM Easy Read

Tower Project at the RIX centre Session Fifteen 10.12.14

We met to discuss the progress of our Sensory Labels, John who runs the Tower Project came to the session.

Tower Project Discuss

Tower Project Discuss

First we had a report from the Engage Conference by Tim and Judith.

Judith and Tim report from the Engage Conference in Bristol

Judith and Tim report from the Engage Conference in Bristol

Nic discussed with the group the progress of the Sensory Label triggers.

Nic demos the progress of the Sensory Labels

Nic demos the progress of the Sensory Labels

We tested some aromas for the Sensory Labels smell compartment.

testing smells in the box

testing smells in the box

Noelle helped our Co-researchers record thoughts about their chosen objects for the Sensory Label soundscape.

Recording Soundscapes

Recording Soundscapes

Recording Adalana

Recording Adalana

Judith showed John from Tower Project her Sensory Label and we discussed how our Co-researchers could take part in some peer learning with others from the Tower Project holding their own sensory label workshop.

Judith shows John a sensory label

Judith shows John her sensory label

 

Tower Project at The British Museum Session Ten 08.10.14

Here is the easy read programme for session ten at The British Museum.

Tower Project TEN

Tower Project TEN Easy Read Programme

We tried out the Audio Tour of the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum. We did this research in response to some of our co-researchers idea to create an audio guide for the objects they had chosen. Below are images of the group using the Audio Tour.

Using Audio Guides

Using Audio Guides

Listening to the Audio Tour

Listening to the Audio Tour

Our 12 objects chosen by our co-researchers were different from the 10 on the Audio Guide.

Using Audio Tour of Enlightenment Gallery

Using Audio Tour of Enlightenment Gallery

Our Co-researchers will reflect on their experiences in our next session. After lunch our co-researchers were given a sheet with images of the artwork they have made in response to their chosen objects. They had to recognise who’s work it was, what object is represented and draw a guide to where it could be found on a plan of the Enlightenment Gallery. Below in an image of the sheet.

Everyones Object in Enlightenment Gallery

Everyones Object in Enlightenment Gallery

The picture below shows Adalana, Justin, Michael and Tim working with the sheet and Judith showing off her completed sheet. The sheet was to help our co-researchers think about how we will guide the public to their sensory labels on our event day. Sam had mentioned she enjoyed trails and guides, often designed for children to discover museums, Sam said that people with learning difficulties would also enjoy this format if it was designed for adults.

Sensory Labels Hunt

Sensory Labels Hunt

Picture below shows some of the Sensory Objects research team waving in the Enlightenment Gallery, our group waving makes a good composition with the statue behind. Thanks to Adam photographer from the Tower Project for the picture.

Tower Project Wave at British Museum

Sensory Objects research team wave at British Museum

 

Tower Project at The Rix Centre Session Eight 24.09.14

Below is the programme for session eight. Find out more on our co-researchers Wiki

TOWER PROJECT EIGHT

TOWER PROJECT EIGHT

First we had a discussion about ideas for our event bringing sensory labels to the Enlightenment Gallery, we asked the group for their thoughts. There were many ideas including creating an audio guide of sensory soundscapes to link to chosen objects suggested by Judith and having a living statue which was Kelly’s idea when asked what conversation she would have with the statue she had chosen she said “somebody get me out of this museum I’ve been stuck in here for years!”. Sam wanted to create some kind of game where the goal is to discover the sensory labels in the gallery rather than have a guide map, she mentioned that there is often something like this for children but that people with learning disabilities would enjoy this too. Tim suggested we should have flags of the countries where the objects we have chosen come from to direct people to our sensory lables. Kate took notes of all the ideas and we will work on them over the next few weeks.

Discussion about sensory labels

Discussion about sensory labels

Nic gave a demo of triggers, he explained that a sound or movement on our sensory labels, currently triggered by a black button, could be triggered by stroking, he used Sian from Reading College’s Moot Boot to demonstrate the idea. The picture below shows Ryan stroking the Moot it moos when the fake fur cow hide is stroked. Nic also demoed Rachel’s pig which was triggered by a proximity sensor so when the person stood in front of it the sound and movement of the pig was triggered.

Stroking the Moot

Stroking the Moot

Nic also wanted to see if anyone remembered how some of the sensors worked from last week. He showed Adalana as she missed the last session.

Nic demos Triggers

Nic demos Trigger

The picture below shows Adjoa and Ryan demoing creating sounds with the littleBits synth kit.

Trying out Syth Kit

Trying out Syth Kit

Tim showed his Egyptian hieroglyph to the group. He had drawn a picture inspired by his object a small wooden Egyptian sarcophagus. He wanted to draw a modern object a plane in the style of Egyptian hieroglyphs, he also wrote his name. We then took a photo of his drawing and engraved the image in wood using a laser cutter. The drawing surface now embossed could be felt and it also had the smell of burnt wood.

Tim plane engraved

Tim’s plane engraved

We then worked more creating textures and sounds for our sensory labels. Adoja showed how she had used air hardening clay to create a model of the coral she has chosen she also added in some beeswax because it reminded her of the surface texture of the coral.

Adjoa with her model of coral

Adjoa with her model of coral

Katy, Ashley, Kelly and Ryan all made models with air hardening clay.

Clay work

Clay work

We also began to find sounds to build soundscapes for each object we will continue with this next week.

 

Tower Project at The British Museum Session Six 10.09.14

Below is the programme of our session

Tower Project Session SIX

Tower Project Session SIX

Our session was held at The British Museum, their Access and Equality Manager, Jane Samuels, introduced us to Judy Joseph an ESOL tutor (English for Speakers of Other Languages).

JudymeetsTOWER

Jane introduces Judy to the Tower Project

Judy picked out several objects from the Enlightenment Gallery, our Co-researchers really enjoyed the session and were able to concentrate really well.

Judy Enlightenment

Judy Enlightenment

Judy explained the history and geography of the objects and also added some sensory information including a sachet of drinking chocolate that Judy brought out when we looked at chocolate cups in the collection.

chocolate cups

Chocolate cups from Sir Hans Sloane’s collection

Judy explained It was Sir Hans Sloane who introduced milk chocolate for drinking. He had drunk chocolate while working as a doctor in the West Indies, but found it ‘nauseous and hard of digestion’. So he made it taste nicer by boiling the beans with milk and sugar.

Judy also told us about Sir Hans Sloane’s medical specimen collection. Judy added sensory information including spices such as nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon bark and explained how they were used as medicine. For example Judy described how clove oil was used to help soothe toothache.

Judy Specimens and Spices

Judy Specimens and Spices

Judy also told us about a wooden shoe from India, Judy asked who would wear the shoe? It would be worn by someone rich who didn’t have to walk very far as it would be very difficult to walk in.

Shoe Collection

Shoe Collection

Judy showed us a replica of the Rosetta Stone, she asked the group if they could find a label saying you could touch the replica. The group found it under the stone it was quite hard to find, then we all touched the stone, some tapped the stone and we found the replica sounded hollow as it was made of fiberglass. We learnt about the languages on the stone, Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphic and how the stone holds the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Touching Replica Rosetta

Touching Replica Rosetta

After lunch we went to look at the original Rosetta Stone in room 4 the picture below shows the stone in its glass case.

Group visit RosettaStoneOriginal

Group visit RosettaStoneOriginal

There were many people in the gallery looking at the stone, you could not touch this one.

RosettaStoneReal

After Judy’s tour our Co-researchers continued to gather information to create sensory labels for a chosen object in the Enlightenment Gallery. We had a new member of the group Ashley he chose a stuffed Rat.

Ashley chose a Rat

Ashley chose a Rat

The picture below shows some of the objects the group has chosen, Sam continues to be interested in shells, Judith in the leather bag and sandals and I think Adelana looked at more rings.

Objects chosen by Sam, Julia and Adalana

Objects chosen by Sam, Julia and Adalana

Tower Project at the Rix Centre Five 03.09.14

Tower Project Session Five

Tower Project Session Five

We met at the Rix Centre after a break over August. Our Co-researchers did some independent research visiting the London Transport Museum trying out our Sensory Activities book.

Discussing Transport Museum Visit

Discussing Transport Museum Visit

We started our session with hearing about the visit looking at the updates on the wiki webpage updated by our co-researchers. Our Co-researchers really enjoyed their visit, they noted down some general access issues, to do with ramps and size of lifts etc. We discussed the need to focus on the sensory nature of our project. The group had picked out things that they enjoyed, such as having ago with a ticket machine that actually produced an old bus ticket, some mentioned music playing by some of the exhibits, and a handle to crank to help understand how wheels work on a bus.

We discussed the sensory activities book focussing on the Sensory Expeditions cartoon page. We had 2 new names of the book suggested by our co-researchers ‘Recipe Book or Index. Some people found the image of the camera misleading as it looked like a radio, the big nose on the smell cartoon was mistaken as Pinocchio, they asked why the cartoon had no eyes? Someone asked why there was a mouse in the picture?

SensoryExpeditionVer2

SensoryExpeditionVer2

After lunch we didn’t follow our planned programme, we introduced the sound boxes

SoundBoxesIntro

SoundBoxesIntro

and started to learn about electronics and triggering information with Squishy Circuits, we asked the group to create a trigger for a light and a buzzer by creating a circuit and breaking the circuit.

Working with Squishys

Working with Squishys

We also started to think about how we could add some sensory information to the enlightenment gallery. Everyone was given a postcard that could record a sound. We asked our co-researchers to think about what sounds, stories, tactile materials, images or even smells we could use to enhance our experiences of the chosen object from the Enlightenment Gallery, the idea is to develop some kind of sensory label rather than a text label.

Working Sound Cards

Working Sound Cards

The picture below shows posit notes with ideas from the co-researchers for sensory post cards.

Notes on Sensory Labels

Notes on Sensory Labels

Sensory Objects Research Presented at the Inclusive Museum Conference

Kate and Nic gave a hands on presentation of the Sensory Objects project to the Inclusive Museums Conference at the Autry Museum in Los Angeles. We sent a big box containing Sensory Objects developed by our Co-researchers from Reading College at MERL and also the Access to Heritage Group in Liverpool. We showed slides and videos of our current group from the Tower Project at the British Museum to explain our project conference attendees. We met people from all over the world who were interested in our project. The pictures below show some of them trying out the objects you can see Phillip and Johns scrapbooks of Sudley House Liverpool, Sians mooing boot and Rachel’s Pink grunting Pig and Nic explaining our ideas of using Squishy Circuits, littleBits and our research with littleBits go LARGE.

Inclusive Museums Presentation Sensory Objects

Inclusive Museums Presentation Sensory Objects

Sensory Objects Presenation Nic at InMusCon

Sensory Objects Presenation Nic at the Inclusive Museum Conference

During the conference there were many talks and discussions often all happening at once. One of the most inspiring talks, I thought, was by Nina Simon, she wrote a book that helped give shape to our sensory objects project The Participatory Museum. Below are some images she used during her talk about Santa Cruz Museum where she is working at now. Her talk showed her ideas and experiences of making the museum a place where everyone can feel welcome and take part. She mentioned Pop Up Museums and also the idea of the museum acting as a place for people to have conversations, bringing unlikely people together, she described it as ‘bridging’ the two people bottom left of the picture are a lady who knits and a graffiti artist who meet during a workshop at the museum and really got on.

Presentation Nina Simon

Presentation Nina Simon

During the talk Nina mentioned some of the problems of making the museum more participatory, that some people in the community accuse her of dumbing down the museum, she illustrated the problem by showing this cartoon below. You can’t please everyone, in the cartoon a character called MAH that Nina said represented her is telling Michelangelo that his painting of the Sistine Chapel is “a bit passive and that he must engage the visitor, leave room for the visitors to colour in your work with crayons or paint ball! you know…. dumb down your work!” Nina mentioned that by widening the audience to the museum you will also alienate people who enjoyed it as it was, but attendance and participation in the Santa Cruz Museum continues to rise and generate income because of her ideas of inclusion.

Nina Simon Cartoon

Nina Simon Cartoon

The video below shows Nina giving a talk which has similar content to the presentation at the Inclusive Museums Conference.

Tower Project at The British Museum Session Four 30.07.14

During this session the group discussed objects they had seen at the British Museum in the Enlightenment Gallery. Below is the programme for the day.

Tower Project Programme Session 4

Tower Project Programme Session 4

Carly one of two PhD students contributing to the Sensory Objects Project led a session to reflect on the objects chosen from the Enlightenment Gallery. The picture below is an example of one of our Co-researchers Justin choosing his object in the Enlightenment Gallery, a silver replica of the Warwick Vase, he chose the vase because it reminded him of a football trophy, when asked to describe why he chose it he held the Warwick Vase above his head.

Justin and the Warwick Vase

Justin and the Warwick Vase

One by one our co-researchers presented their chosen objects to the rest of the group  and shared their thoughts on this object (why they liked it, what they imagined it would feel/smell like etc)….Our visitors from Austria shared their chosen objects they also presented some drawings and thoughts about the objects, this was their final session with the group.

Austrian visitors Present Ideas

Austrian visitors Present Ideas

Then Carly asked our co-researchers to imagine they had a piece of clay in their hands and ask them to sculpt their object out of this imaginary clay.

Carly demos invisible Clay

Carly demos invisible Clay

Some of the  group said how much they disliked real clay because it was too messy, but imaginary clay was nice and clean.

Working with imaginary clay

Working with imaginary clay

The group were really good at remembering and imagining what size the object they had chosen was, what shape it was, if it was smooth/rough etc…

Passing invisible clay object

Passing invisible clay object

When their object was complete Carly asked us to imagine our object had become really heavy, and we had to hand it to the next person, then we imagined it being really light.

Making objects with imaginary clay

Making objects with imaginary clay

After lunch the group were asked to upload their pictures on to our wiki webpage and add thoughts about the objects they have chosen from the Enlightenment Gallery. Our Co-researchers were going to carry out some independent research during August using our Sensory Expedition book. We had a vote to decide which museum our group would visit, the group chose the Transport Museum and our co-researchers would add information about the visit to the Wiki ready for discussion on our next session on Sept 3rd.

Tower Project at The British Museum Session THREE 23.07.14

Tower Project Sensory Object co-researchers visit The British Museum focussing on the the Enlightenment Gallery, we were joined by visitors to the Rix Centre from Austria.

TowerProject at British Museum

TowerProject at The British Museum

Below is our programme plan for the day.

Tower Project session 3 British Museum

Tower Project session 3 The British Museum

Sam began our day with showing me a drawing she had made about the Sensory Objects project.

Samantha and her Sensory Project Pic

Samantha and her Sensory Project Pic

We were welcomed to the museum by their Access and Equality manager Jane Samuels.

Jane welcomes Group

Jane welcomes Group

Jane gave us an image of Sir Hans Sloane and asked our group to see if they could spot the painting as they entered Room 2.

Jane said that when we found the painting we would find Hilary Williams who would give us a talk about Sir Hans Sloane, his collection and the Enlightenment Gallery see picture below.

Group Listening to Hilary

Group Listening to Hilary

Hilary asked our co-researchers how old is the Earth? See picture below.

Based on the Bible people used to think it was 400 years old but when people discovered fossils they realised it was millions of years old.

Hilary asks how old is the earth

Hilary asks how old is the earth

Hilary explained that the Enlightenment Gallery contained collections of natural things like shells, animals, mineral rocks and fossils and things made by humans such as tools and artworks.

After lunch our co-researchers were asked to choose an object in the Enlightenment Gallery that they liked and would like more information about. We asked them to consider what sensory information their object had and if they would like more. How would if feel if you could touch it? smell if you could sniff it etc Below are some of their choices, Justin chose a replica of silver cup.

Justin with Cup

Justin with Cup

Adalana the replica of the Pitt Diamond.

Adalana and diamond

Adalana and diamond

Close up of replica Pitt Diamond that Adalana chose.

Adelanas diamond

Adelanas diamond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emen chose a carved foot in a sandel.

Emen draws sandle

Emen draws sandle

Sandle carvedKaty chose a snake, rat and mongoose.

Katy Snake Rat

Katy Snake Rat

Tim chose a miniature Egyptian mummy sarcophagus.

Tims objects collected

Tims objects collected

Ryan chose Chinese Plates.

Ryans choice

Ryans choice

Julie chose a stuffed heron which she made some notes about.

Julie draws a heron

Julie draws a heron

Sam and Noelle talk about shell collection and how it reminded her of her mum who lived by the sea.

Sam and Noelle

Sam and Noelle

Michael chose a big bowl

Michael and his bowl

Michael and his bowl

Judith chose objects from Africa

Judiths notes

Judiths notes

Judith's choice

Judith’s choice

Some of the group tried out the British Museum handling table, they enjoyed using the magnifying glass to view the objects.

Sam tries handling collection

Sam tries the handling table

Katy at handling table holding a flint.

Katy at Handling table

Katy at Handling table

Our co-researchers collected thoughts and stories about the chosen object (see pictures below), ready to talk about their chosen object when we meet at the Rix Centre next week.

Adelana draws

Adelana draws

Tim with his notes

Tim with notes

Tim with notes

 

Tower Project London Session TWO 16.07.14

In our second session with our Co-researchers from the Tower Project we asked them to bring in an object that was special for them and they would be able to talk about why they brought it. Below is the easy read outline plan of the day.

 Week 2 Tower Project Session

Week 2 Tower Project Session

The theme of the day was to create a Pop Up Museum form objects everyone had been asked to bring in. Everyone had brought something they could talk about we made a video of each person with their object.

We wanted to think about objects people own that are special for them and how they transform when they become part of a museum collection.

Co-researchers with objects

Co-researchers with objects Emem photographs them

First we described the object we had brought in, what it meant to each person, and where we kept it, what it made us think of when we saw it. The picture below shows Justin with his trophy for Disco Dancing he won it when he was 3 years old. Next Katy with her musical globe of the Lion King bought for her by her sister who had seen the stage play and Marc a visitor from Austria who is with us for 3 weeks on a study placement he had bought some wafer biscuits that are typically Austrian as a gift for everyone at the Rix Centre.

Talking about the objects

Talking about the objects

Once we had videoed everyone talking about their object we took instant photos of the objects and created a label with images and some text. The picture below shows all the Co-researchers with the labels they had made.

Everyone at the Pop up Museum

Everyone at the Pop up Museum

Next we decided to make categories for our Pop Up Museum, we chose 7 which is the same number they have in the Enlightenment Museum. Our section names for the Pop Up Museum were 1 Toys and Games, 2 Food and Drink, 3 Family Histories, 4 Places, 5 Awards, 6 Events and 7 Curios. The image below shows the group at work displaying their objects in different sections, Noelle helps Michael display his football.

Pop Up Museum Foot ball

Noelle helps organise the Pop Up Museum Michael’s  Football is displayed

 

Popup museum in the making

Popup museum in the making

Exhibits in the Pop Up Museum, we had some glass display cases which we tried out each object inside some were too big, so we used the base. Putting the objects under glass made changed the object. The images below show exhibits in our museum in the first picture you can see Adalana she chose to display her white cane, Kell showed her Grandmothers wedding ring and Julie a Champagne glass she was given on her 30th birthday.

Adalana, Kelly and Julie pop up exhibits

Adalana, Kelly and Julie pop up exhibits

The picture below shows items brought in by Tower Project support workers Debbie displayed old money, Minos a mosaic that reminded him of Greece and Farhat (sorry need to find out how to spell name) a watch that he was given for his 25th birthday the 3rd of his collection.

Support workers Pop up Exhibits

Support workers Pop up Exhibits

The picture below shows Samatha’s journal where she writes about all the work she does, next is Tim’s soldier at the Trooping of the Colour he has a big collection of them he spoke how putting the figure under the glass dome changed its scale and finally Emen’s medal he won for running, he has lots of medals for sport.

Popup museum Sam Tim and Emem

Popup museum Sam Tim and Emem

Below shows Ryans bus he used to travel on a Route Master, Adjoa’s teddy given to her by a friend at the airport, a collection of all our wrist watches from some of the group and the Austrian food, chocolate, biscuits and pumpkin oil.

The Tower Project Pop Up Museum

The Tower Project Pop Up Museum

We photographed the Pop Up Museum see pictures below

We took lots of photos

We took lots of photos

Austrian food and drink exhibits with sensory information on the labels

Austrian treats exhibit Pop up museum

Austrian treats exhibit Pop up museum

It was a really interesting day, hearing about everyones object and then seeing them displayed. We talked a bit about how our museum might have connections to the Enlightenment Gallery at the British Museum we are visiting next. See a picture of our discussion below we remembered Andy’s talk about Museums and Collections last week, where the fork came from, what is was used for originally, who bought it and how it ended up as an exhibit. We asked our co-researchers what was our research question was? They said how to make museums more accessible. We will explore adding sensory information to tell stories about objects from our Co-researchers perspective. Our group suggested using video, touch sounds, braille to help make museums more enjoyable to visit.

Kates cartoons of session

Tower Project London Session ONE 09.07.14

We held an introductory session with our new Co-Researchers from the Tower Project London at the Rix Centre who will be researching sensory objects for the British Museum. The picture below shows the easy read plan for the day.

Tower Project Session ONE

Tower Project Session ONE

It was great to meet every one from the Tower Group see the picture below

Tower Group during first session

Tower Group during first session

Andy used cartoons to help us think about objects, collecting and displaying the objects in museums see picture below

Collecting Objects FORK

Collecting Objects FORK

Access to Heritage Forum report on first workshop on Mencap Webpage

Access to Heritage Forum report on first workshop on Mencap Webpage Mencap Liverpool webpage

Post on Mencap page about first Workshop