23、Touch Museum: Education programs for visually impaired children in Thailand by the Bangkok National Museum

 

Disapong　NETLOMWONG

The National Gallery, Thailand

 

The Bangkok National Museum is the oldest and largest museum in Thailand. The exhibits in the museum present history-archaeology, ethnology, and historical monuments. The museum is regarded as an important lifelong education center for children and adults in Thailand. However, not every child or adult can easily visit and learn at the museum. The Bangkok National Museum is also concerned about children with disabilities and the disadvantaged and we create yearly special education programs for these children in mind. The “Touch Museum” project, although operating on a very limited budget, is one type of project that focuses on children with visual impairments, through the cooperative efforts of the Thailand Association of the Blind and the National Museum of Volunteers. This project aims to provide opportunities for visually impaired children to discover and learn about the arts and culture of Thailand through touch and other forms of media that children without impairments can access. This project has proven to be a success with children and staff and is a good pilot project for education programs for children with disabilities throughout Thailand.