A Methodology for Enhancing the Accessibility of Scientific Museum’s Collections (SCAMP)

Museums are full of beautiful objects with high historical value. Sometimes such objects are static in their nature (e.g., statues), but often they are interactive (e.g., tools or manipulable artifacts). Very often they are accompanied by the classic sign “do not touch, just watch” or are enclosed in glass cases, hindering the full experience of their intended use. Due to high restoration and preservation costs, some of these artifacts are also relegated to storage, limiting access to the public. This poses a dual accessibility issue: the general public cannot interact with these objects as originally intended, and blind or visually impaired individuals must rely solely on textual descriptions or audio guides. Additionally, certain artifacts still hold significant societal value if they could be interactively experienced again. To address this, we propose the Scientific Collections Accessibility Making Process (SCAMP) methodology. By leveraging 3D printing and digital technologies, SCAMP is a robust, generic framework to “make accessible again” interactive museum objects. It creates accurate replicas and a multimodal experience centered around the recreated artifacts. Specific guidelines ensure that the replica and the interactive user experience maintain fidelity to the original objects, enhancing (rather than altering) their characteristics. Unlike many single-case discussions in the literature, SCAMP focuses on a scalable, theoretical basis that can be applied to similar artifacts. Beyond accurately reproducing shapes and colors, SCAMP also emphasizes tactile fidelity, conveying sensations close to those provided by the original item. By applying the SCAMP methodology, interactive objects of high historical value can be made accessible to everyone—both the general public and individuals who are blind or visually impaired. Accessibility in SCAMP is essentially about ensuring an inclusive user experience for the interactive content, for which specific design rules are provided. We demonstrate SCAMP through two Brendel Models from the University of Bologna, concluding with user testing. While there is room for improvement, results show that SCAMP successfully meets its accessibility and fidelity goals, with users expressing enthusiasm for the final outcome.