Museums! How Accessible for Individuals with Disabilities?

The research examines the accessibility of museums in Istanbul for people with disabilities. The aim is to determine the suitability of museums in Istanbul for individuals with physical, visual, and hearing impairments, identify the problems they encounter in museums, identify physical limitations, and develop solution proposals. The qualitative research method was used in the research conducted in 2022-2023 covering museums in Istanbul. The research consists of two parts. In the first part, the museums to be visited were determined. Then, the checklists were submitted for approval to two expert academics. Opinions regarding the questions in the checklists were obtained by conducting a pilot study with six individuals with physical impairments, two with visual impairments, and two with hearing impairments. In the second part, the accessibility was evaluated by visiting 41 museums in Istanbul using checklists consisting of 23 questions. The findings were analyzed using the content analysis method. Considering the data of the research, none of the museums met the requirements for accessibility, museums were far from providing minimum standards for individuals with physical, visual, and hearing impairments, and individuals with physical, visual, and hearing impairments were unable to visit museums due to inadequate physical conditions rather than financial constraints.