Dear whom it may concern,

I am writing to request Friends of The University funding of £1800 for installing an accessible exhibit at the Cole Museum of Zoology for those with sight loss.

The Cole Museum has recently hosted an outreach session for a local charity called Berkshire Vision, for participants with dual sight and hearing loss. This event was a success; however, it has made us think about how we can make the museum more accessible to our visitors. This led us to the idea of creating an accessible, touchable museum display with braille.

This display will be mounted on the side of one of our displays (please see picture of location) and consist of 3D printed specimens, using our recently acquired 3D printer. The specimens will be a combination of specimens from our own collection which have been scanned, and specimens from free to use online repositories. The specimens will be paired with large text describing them, and braille. There will also be a QR code link to an audio description, for those who do not use braille. The display will be wheelchair height, and fully accessible for wheelchair users.

The display will improve the experience of our visitors with sight loss, as it will enable them to interact with, and understand the interesting specimens in our collection!

We will use the funding to help us purchase different coloured and textured 3D printing filaments, to help us make the touchable specimens, to purchase the acrylic board, and to commission the University’s Creative and Print services (CPS) team to assist us in designing and printing the display.

We are currently waiting to receive a quote from the CPS team – there has been a delay in their response due to staff sickness. Is it possible to amend the funding amount slightly if this changes? I should hear from them either later today or tomorrow.

Thank you for reading, we hope to hear from you soon!

Best wishes,

Caitlin