Chennai's Museum of Possibilities: An arena of accessibility for persons with disabilities

The yet-to-be inaugurated Museum of Possibilities is a space with solutions and structures specially designed to cater to People with Disabilities.
Museum of Possibilities manager Shailesh.
Museum of Possibilities manager Shailesh.

CHENNAI: On a sunny Friday noon, echoes of drilling and hammering envelopes the rather quiet premises of State Commissionerate for Welfare of the Differently Abled on Kamarajar Salai, overlooking the Marina Beach. An accessible ramp leads me into the portion of the building that houses the Museum of Possibilities. Funded by the government of Tamil Nadu and managed by Vidya Sagar, the 2,500-sq-ft space is in its final stages of completion and is yet to be officially inaugurated. It’s exclusively designed for People with Disabilities and strives to be a prototype for accessible places in the city.

“The museum is accessible for people with all kinds of disabilities. We will soon have an app that will help the visually impaired navigate with audio-guided instructions. As you see, we have only ramps here. Our website, that’s being set up, will also offer a virtual tour of the museum,” says Shailesh, a person with visual impairment and the manager, Museum of Possibilities. Besides him, three more staff members will be available at the museum to assist visitors.

A commendable collaboration

The museum’s priority is to showcase the latest assistive aids and devices, and technological advancements catering to the disabled community. “We have curated products from vendors across the country and made it available for people under one roof. All in an effort to ensure equal opportunities for their full participation in society. The interactive space facilitates people to pick up and use the appliances. Every cubicle with products will have QR codes that can be scanned to access visual and auditory information about the product and its uses. We can share our database and help people connect with vendors,” informs Poonam Natarajan, founder, Vidya Sagar. This way, the museum doubles up as a space for vendors and manufacturers to identify prospective products for large-scale manufacturing.

The assistive aids and devices are categorically arranged according to the Live-Work-Play module on a wall-mounted unit with cubicles. Each portion displays adopted tools and appliances required in each module.

“There are 250 products so far but the list will be updated every time a new product is introduced in the market. For example, under the play domain, you will find board games and cards (with braille prints), musical instruments, and tactile books. Under work, you will find medical apparatus with auditory output, different software and applications used by the visually impaired to work on computers, modified glasses, weighing machines, and more,” notes Shailesh, showing us around.

A highlight of the project is an accessible or inclusive house model, which would demonstrate how to improve the daily lives of the PwD. “We’ve set up a living room, kitchen and bedroom. The living room will have user-friendly furniture with minimal features, remote-controlled switches for fans and lights. Kitchens will have shelves at lower heights so that people in wheelchair can access things easily. Bedrooms have sliding doors, beds at a lower level, and a bigger mirror. At restrooms, there are grab bars and handrails to support them while using the western commode. A lot of the products are yet to be unboxed,” details Shailesh.

Promises and potentials

The museum also has a dedicated space to encourage and promote employment opportunities for the PwD. “People from different disability organisations will get to exhibit their handmade products. We will be putting up some paintings by the PwD on the walls for people to purchase. A cafe on the first floor, that’s going to be run by those with disabilities, is underway. This beach-facing eatery is open to all. We will also have a space for recreational activities and look forward to PwD from across the city and state to network and discuss ideas. There will be seminars and workshops too,” offers Poonam.

The museum will also be setting up two projectors — one displaying information on films and books that can help to understand the lives of PwD better; and the other will screen performances by PwD from across the world. An impact wall with photographs at the reception will have moments of disability movements around the world with information in English and Tamil. In the backyard, there’s a garden with upcycled bins that double up as planters. “We’re also working on a space for sports activities for those with disabilities,” shares Shailesh.

The museum will soon be a buzzing activity centre for People with Disabilities as well as a launchpad for their skills, emphasises Johny Tom Varghese, director for the Welfare of the Differently Abled. “We hope to be up to date with what is available in the disability space in the market. We want to increase the product list and encourage research parks to look into innovations for the community. The department will soon have a committee with a wider mandate on research for disability. They will work on knowledge and research along with experts abroad. It will also be a vibrant space where ideas are shared. We want all disability organisations to think of it as their space. We will be happy if people from other parts of Tamil Nadu drop by. It’s free and for all,” he says.

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