Do Not Touch: getting in touch with PhD students to answer difficult questions at the Fitzwilliam
The Fitzwilliam Museum has been thinking about tactile access to collections for a long time. From touch tours for the blind and partially sighted to education seminars for students, the Museum understands that touch can offer a fantastic opportunity to learn from and enjoy the collections. Working in Collections Care, I am approaching this topic from a slightly different angle;…
Please do not touch?
Working in Collections Care at the Fitzwilliam Museum, the thought of people handling the collections can sometimes seem counter-intuitive. Nevertheless, I attended a workshop on tactile access to collections ran by Touring Exhibitions Company (TEG) at thinktank in Birmingham. I found it invaluable for the information and tools it provided. Why do some museums ask visitors not to touch the…
People watching: the role of a volunteer visitor observer
The Volunteer Visitor Observer role has now been running for almost six months, so we decided that this was a good time to have a chat with some of our volunteers to find out what they have been doing. The role supports a research project at the Fitzwilliam Museum, “Please Do Not Touch”, which aims to understand the effectiveness of the…
