A new permanent exhibition has opened at the Melbourne Museum!
Written by: Lenore Whiteside
Architecture & Access are excited to have worked on Melbourne Museum’s new permanent exhibition Our Wondrous Planet – an incredible, multisensory gallery, and the biggest exhibition in Museums Victoria history, which opened to the public this September.
Architecture & Access was engaged by Museums Victoria to provide access consulting services for the project. Further to ensuring that circulation to and within separate zones of the exhibit was accessible, we worked closely with the design team to ensure that best practice, based on Universal Design thinking, was integrated into the design. As well as desktop design reviews, multiple workshops with the design team were held. During these sessions, much of discussion revolved around how different user groups would interact with the space, and how the design could not only support the needs of a wide range of users but enhance their experience.
What is an appropriate height for the interactive, touch sensor table-top displays for a nine-year-old? How about their younger sibling? Can a person using a wheelchair use it comfortably? And where can grandma take a seat when she needs a rest while still being a part of the experience?
The design team’s understanding of how museum visitors interact with exhibits—what works and what doesn’t—combined with Architecture & Access’s expertise in creating equitable, inclusive spaces was integral to the success of this collaboration. Throughout the process, a wide range of Australian and international benchmarks informed decision-making and guided solutions to accommodate users of all ages and abilities.
A key learning for both parties was that guidance on the design of exhibition spaces, particularly for younger users/children and people of shorter stature, is relatively limited. AS1428.2:1992 Design for access and mobility – Part 2 Enhanced and additional requirements – Building and facilities provides guidance on recommended reach ranges for adults who have a disability which can be applied to interactive exhibition design, and AS1428 Part 3: Requirements for children and adolescents with physical disabilities provides, as the title suggests, guidanceon recommended reach ranges for children with a disability. However, noting that 1992 was more than 2 decades ago, and AS1428 Part 3 has subsequently been withdrawn.
Furthermore, these standards are for people who have a (physical) disability, leaving out a vast array of other kinds of disability and levels of ability in general. A more recent guideline, the Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design (2010) provides a starting point but is limited in similar ways to the above. As well as this, the Smithsonian is most geared towards a traditional gallery setting where artworks are mounted on walls and plinths to be viewed and not interacted with. To its credit though, it does provide good explanations on the reasoning behind the recommendations it makes.
There is one more standard worth mentioning which is AS 1428.6: 2025 – Fixtures and Fittings (draft only) to replace the outdated AS1428.2:1992 equivalent standards, and provides details on ergonomics, anthropometrics and spatial requirements for people using wheelchair and mobility aids, as well as details for visual ability. It is hoped to be published by the end of this year (2025).
Despite the challenges raised during the design process, the exhibition successfully offers a variety of sensory and interactive experiences. Through visual, audio, touch and tactility, as well as other sensory elements, areas of higher and lower activity are created. Busy minds can wash away scenes at their fingertips to uncover new worlds, calm can be found in nooks with dim lighting and space to ponder (elephants really are quite huge), and movement be found as you swim through the coral reef (not literally).
The exhibition creates a welcoming and inclusive place that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and with a wide range of abilities and sensory preferences. You can find more information about the Our Wondrous Planet exhibition on the Melbourne Museum website.
