Choose Your Own Adventure: Multisensory Approaches to Inclusive Exhibit Design

Name: Choose Your Own Adventure: Multisensory Approaches to Inclusive Exhibit Design
Start: 2025-10-29T15:30:00-04:00
Location: Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown

Schedule

Wed, 29 Oct, 2025 at 03:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown | Pittsburgh, PA

Part of the in-person MAAM Conference, October 28-30, 2025
Quatrefoil's Interactive Producer Blair Chisholm presents on this topic in collaboration with:
-Alexsandra Simakowicz, Senior Historic Program Specialist, Morris County Park Commission; Fosterfields Living Historical Farm
-Anne Fullenkamp, Senior Director of Creative Experiences, Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh
-Cheryl Fogle-Hatch, Founder, Museum Senses LLC
How can museums welcome visitors of different backgrounds and abilities, and offer choices for how to access information in multiple ways? This session will feature case studies spanning more than a decade of inclusive design practice at diverse institutions. Practitioners will share learnings from creating interfaces for multisensory and multimodal ways to explore the content of exhibits, inspired by universal design principles. Recognizing that accessibility is not one-size-fits-all, this session will include case studies featuring different collections, content, settings, budgets, and approaches to accessibility. This nuts-and-bolts session will offer practical insights for making museum experiences more accessible and engaging for all, from design, collections, programming, and accessibility experts who have worked in a variety of informal learning environments.
Objectives:
-Understand principles of universal design
-Give specific examples of multi-sensory and multimodal exhibit design
-Gain practical tips for advancing accessibility in your museum, with examples of organizations of different sizes and budgets
-Understand benefits and opportunities of having multiple interfaces and how it helps all visitors participate more fully