Excursion to the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Museum: history you can touch
On Saturday, 4 October, our team at the Barrier-Free Ukraine Resource Centre organised a special event — an excursion for blind visitors to the Chyhyryn National Historical and Cultural Reserve, specifically to the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Museum and the Chyhyryn Castle Fortress, which was built in the 16th century. This is a defensive structure located on Castle Hill and was of great strategic importance.
Not long ago, we had the honour of participating in the creation of an inclusive educational space at the museum. Now, visitors with visual impairments can not only listen to the guide's narration, but also literally touch history through adapted exhibits, tactile elements, and Braille descriptions.
Our contribution was to make the museum more accessible and welcoming to everyone. We created:
- a tactile portrait of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, which allows blind people to feel the features of the hetman's face, his clothing and his mace, the hetman's main attribute;
- Braille descriptions of exhibits related to Cossack life, weapons, and paintings, so that everyone could learn about the history of the items and better imagine what they looked like.
During the tour, participants had the opportunity to explore many exhibits from the Cossack era, feel the spirit of bygone eras, and discover pages of history that came to life thanks to the wonderful tour guides. Museum staff described each object in great detail, helping people with visual impairments to imagine it as accurately as possible.
For us, such projects are not just work, but a mission to make culture accessible to everyone, so that the history of Ukraine is open to everyone, regardless of their visual abilities.
