Hello and welcome to the first stop of this guide to 'Thirst: In Search of Freshwater'. In this stop, I am going to explain how this digital guide works.
There are 11 stops, ranging from around 4 to 7 minutes long.
This first stop provides information about access resources. Please listen all the way to the end for the full set of instructions. To skip to information about the exhibition go to stop 2, which is an introduction to the exhibition and a stone tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Stop 2 is just inside the glass entrance doors, directly ahead. Note that the glass doors are quite heavy, and the flooring inside the exhibition is brown carpet. Do let a member of staff know if you need assistance getting into the gallery.
In stops 3 – 11 you will also hear from some of the artists and subject specialists about some of the key works in the exhibition. This is combined with visual description of the artworks.
You have accessed the guide by scanning a QR code. You can also access the audio information by picking up one of the handheld players and a headset from the pick-up station on the wall, where Stop 1 is located.
A white tactile floor line is designed to support wayfinding between the stops. When you arrive at an artwork which has a stop, this is indicated on the floor by a grey square with raised dots.
You will find a tactile QR code and stop number within arm's reach of the grey square. The QR codes can be found on black circular discs, 18cm in diameter, with a stop title and tactile number in high contrast white lettering. They are located either on the wall, on a freestanding label holder next to the work, or on the work itself.
If you need any assistance, there are three members of our team in the gallery at all times. They will be wearing a black Wellcome Collection top.
The floor line from the main entrance brings you to the aluminium pick-up station, which is on the right side of the floor line as you stand on it.
At the right end of this pick-up station you will find a screen with a BSL introduction, in the middle are the audio handsets and headphones, and to the right are shelves with several different printed guides.
A turquoise blue, A4-sized large print guide includes enlarged versions of all the exhibition texts, a map of the floor line, as well as a list of all the digital guide stops. It has white symbol of an eye with a line through the middle on the cover.
You will also find a dark blue, A4-sized visual story booklet. This provides pre-visit information about the exhibition, using images, symbols and short written explanations. This has a symbol of a book on the cover.
There is also a light blue, A4-sized paper map of sensory elements in the exhibition, such as bright lights or sound. This has symbols with a nose, hand and an ear on the cover.
There is seating throughout the exhibition, which will be indicated in some of the stops. There are also folding seats that can be picked up just inside the exhibition entrance, to your right.
The tactile floor line finishes at the exit to the exhibition, just after Stop 11, in the last room.
The next stop is an introduction to the exhibition and the Epic of Gilgamesh, voiced by Curator Janice Li. With the pick-up station on your right, follow the tactile floor line to the tactile square for Stop 2, which is just inside the exhibition entrance.
This is the end of Stop 1.