The Lithuanian Museum of Education is implementing the project “Under the Fingertips of Museums“, the aim of which is to create an accessible and inclusive product for visitors with disabilities that complements the exhibition spaces of the Lithuanian Museum of Education.
During the project “Under the Fingertips of Museums“, copies of museum values and audiovisual stops will be created, thanks to which museum visitors with different disabilities and specific developmental and mental disorders will be able to feel welcome in the museum and become involved in the story of the history of education in Lithuania. Copies of museum valuables that complement the exposition will allow people with visual impairments and developmental disabilities to experience and get to know the history of Lithuanian education better – by touching the copies of museum valuables, visitors with visual impairments will be able to get to know museum valuables that they would not know in other ways, and due to the different materiality of the copies, it is more interesting to experience the exposition and it is easier to understand the nature of the original object.
Audiovisual stations will allow you to easily adapt the museum‘s content to people with visual, hearing, complex disabilities and with mental, developmental, neurotic, and mental disorders. The information provided at the audiovisual stations will have several formats, e.g. Visually impaired visitors of the museum could hear an audio story about the copies of museum valuables that have just been touched, and for the deaf this story will be presented in sign language. With the help of copies of the museum valuables touched, the main features of the development of the history of Lithuanian education from the fourteenth to the twentieth century and the school attributes of that era will be presented. For example, it is planned to create a stop dedicated to M. Mažvydas‘ “Catechism“ – it is interesting for each visitor to touch and read the first Lithuanian book independently. The next stop will introduce Vilnius University – the first higher education institution of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and its alumni arouse admiration for everyone.
At this stop, visitors will be able to explore the ensemble of Vilnius University buildings for themselves. Also, with the help of school karabuk, the miniature of P. Rimša‘s sculpture “The School of Misery“ will be presented during the period of prohibition of the Lithuanian press, etc. By using copies of museum valuables and audiovisual stops, the Lithuanian Education Museum will become more attractive and accessible to more groups of society. The project is financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania under the programme “Museums for Human Welfare“.
