Gathering around the Collected touchtable, visitors discover a vast and fascinating reservoir of Missouri history at their fingertips, ranging from the famous (Charles Lindbergh’s flight suit) to the charming (a World’s Fair souvenir spoon with a hidden locket) to the playful (the first Build-a-Bear).
A companion app for blind or low-vision visitors leverages accessibility tech built into smartphones to showcase these images and stories representing 150 years’ worth of collecting.
An Invitation to Explore
How do you spotlight such a rich trove of items in a way that is accessible to many visitors at once? For RLMG’s designers, the key was motion. As images emerge and float across the dynamic centerpiece, visitors can tap anything that interests them—browsing, digging, and diving into Missouri History. Artifact windows encourage zooming in on details, while a smart sidebar suggests related objects and invites visitors down beguiling rabbit holes of discovery.
A late-breaking request to develop a “docent mode” led RLMG to add a hidden feature. Tour group leaders can tap an invisible button on screen to bring up a search bar, quickly find the object they want to highlight, and deploy it to all sides of the table for group viewing and discussion.
Accessibility in Action
While the companion app’s primary audience is visitors who are blind or low-vision, the museum discovered it’s a great way for anyone to explore the collections. Consistent layouts, intuitive navigation, and descriptive captions—all hallmarks of universal design—create an efficient, enjoyable experience. RLMG ensured future updates would remain coordinated by designing the content management system (CMS) to govern both the touch table and the app.
