Accessibility

Inclusive design is design for all.

The Museum was built to feature inclusive design and sets a global example for accessibility. From the way you enter the building to the way you interact with exhibits, we’ve designed the experience to be inclusive and accessible for everyone.

A man stands in front of a screen playing a film that shows an adult working with a child. English subtitles and a sign language interpreter are also displayed on the screen. Partially obscured. — Photo: CMHR, Ian McCausland

Accessibility features around the Museum

Looking down through the Museum’s cross-crossing alabaster ramps as people move through them.

A hand touches braille letters on a museum exhibit.

Two water fountains jut out of a wall. They are located side-by-side, but one fountain is set lower than the other.

Parking

The Accessible Drop‐off Entrance has four parking stalls and brings visitors right to the doors of the Museum. Additional accessible parking can be found along Israel Asper Way.

Entrances

All Museum entrances are accessible to people using wheeled devices and people who prefer to avoid stairs. An Accessible Drop‐off Entrance allows passengers to be dropped off in close proximity to entry doors.

Inclusive washrooms

All Museum washrooms are gender‐inclusive. There are many available on every gallery level. This includes at least one large, accessible, gender‐inclusive, barrier‐free, single‐room washroom on levels 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7. The single‐room washroom behind the Coat Room area on Level 1 is equipped with an adult‐sized change table and motorized transfer lift; all other single‐room washrooms contain baby change tables.

More information

As of May 17, 2022, all Museum washrooms are gender‐inclusive. We no longer have men’s and women’s washrooms. Instead, information about amenities in each washroom is available to make a choice accordingly. All single‐occupancy washrooms remain available.

This decision is rooted in our work to be a place where everyone is respected and welcomed, including transgender people, those of genders and gender expressions that don’t align with the binary categories of “man” and “woman”, as well as caregivers and families. It’s also one of the ways we are moving forward with our Creating an equitable museum framework.

The process of updating our washrooms is as follows:

Phase one: change all washroom signs to include non‐gendered icons. The new signage details the fixtures available in each washroom, using icons and braille. Washrooms that contain a urinal display a urinal icon. All washrooms have menstrual products available free of charge as well as disposal units. Phase one was implemented at the end of May 2022.
Phase two: undertake a space assessment to determine what physical changes may be needed. Necessary changes could include building stalls around the urinals with privacy panels that extend from the floor to the ceiling. As well, the assessment will determine whether the building code allows an extension of the privacy panels for all toilet stalls. The assessment will be completed in the 2022–23 fiscal year and any physical changes would follow.

Elevators

An elevator located in Bonnie & John Buhler Hall stops at all gallery levels, from levels 2 through 7. The Tower Elevator serves Level 3 through Level 8, where the Israel Asper Tower of Hope viewing platform is located.

Strollers

Strollers are available from Coat Check on a first‐come, first‐served basis.

Mobility Aids

The Museum has a small fleet of scooters, power mobility devices and wheelchairs available for pre‐booking or on a first‐come, first‐served basis. Manual wheelchairs can be borrowed at Coat Check.

To book other devices, please contact the Museum:
Phone: 204–289-2000
Toll‐free: 1–877-877 6037
TTY: 204–289‑2050
info@humanrights.ca

Ramps

All galleries can be accessed through a series of inclined ramps with resting spots at regular intervals.

Support persons

Some visitors may require assistance to experience all that the Museum has to offer and may be accompanied by a support person, such as an intervenor, attendant or care provider. Admission is free for the support person.

Service animals

Service animals such as guide dogs and hearing dogs are welcome.

Cane/seats

Foldable, portable cane‐seats are available to borrow at the Level 1 Coat Check.

Telephones

A pay phone located near the Coat Check is TTY capable.

Aira app

The Aira app allows visitors who are blind or have low vision to connect with a live visual interpreter who can assist with navigation, describing content, or reading text. The service is free within the Museum.

Available on iPhone and Android.

Our mobile app

We offer a fully accessible self‐guided museum tour through our free mobile app. You can use the Museum’s free Wi‐Fi to download the app to your iOS or Android device, or borrow an iPod from the Ticket and Information desk at the Main Entrance.

You can also download the app before your visit to take a virtual tour and learn about the spaces you’d like to explore. It is available in English, French, American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ).

Three smartphones are posed together, facing the camera. Each phone has an image from the Museum’s Journey of Inspiration app.

Audio guide

An audio guide – including the voices of Museum staff members – describes each gallery and provides highlights of exhibits and architecture. Text‐based transcripts can also be viewed. Images and video are used to create a rich, interactive experience.

“Near me” mode

This feature connects your device to over 120 Universal Access Points (UAPs) located throughout the Museum. This feature has been designed to assist visitors who are blind or have low vision, but can be used by all visitors to learn key exhibition highlights. This is the first time this type of technology has ever been used in a Canadian cultural institution.

Sign language

For visitors who are Deaf or hard of hearing, the app can be viewed in ASL or LSQ and includes additional sign‐language content for several exhibitions.

Interactive map

A fully accessible interactive map of the Museum’s public spaces can help you find your way. The map can tell you where you are, show you the floorplans, or guide you to your destination with text‐based directions.

In the galleries

In the foreground, a visually impaired person’s white stick touches three tactile strips laid out on the floor of a Museum gallery. The strips lead to benches, where two people are watching a film on a large screen.

A hand holding a headphone jack reaches out to plug the jack into an outlet. Above the outlet is a keypad with various symbols on the keys.

Universal access points

All static exhibition content, as well as audio tours, can be accessed through a tactile marker called a Universal Access Point (UAP). UAPs are located intuitively throughout exhibit areas. These markers can be found on walls and exhibit panels, and are indicated on the floor through the use of a tactile floor strip near to the exhibit. The markers are digitally‐enabled by a device carried by the visitor and consist of raised numbers and Braille codes that trigger audio. For more information, our staff can help you when you visit the Museum.

Universal keypad

Near every touch screen interface is a Universal Keypad. The Universal Keypad (UKP) allows visitors to experience the digital content in touch screen interfaces through accessible tactile controls and voiced instructions. We have two types of UKPs, an Interactive UKP and an Audio UKP.

Interactive UKPs

Interactive UKPs are located near every touch screen interface. This type of UKP allows visitors to access the full functionality of the Museum’s interactive exhibits. It provides:

Basic volume controls
Access to descriptive audio tracks through headphones plugged into an audio jack
A directional keypad for menu navigation, and provides zoom functionality

Audio UKPs

Audio UKPs are located in theatre benches, and at video monitors that are not navigable. They are indicated on the floor through the use of a tactile floor strip near each exhibit. They provide:

Basic volume controls
Access to descriptive audio tracks through headphones plugged into an audio jack

More in-gallery features

A person’s hands are reading braille on a page of a ring binder notebook with geometric designs.

An older man sits in a wheelchair in front of a counter with a large touchscreen.

An older man sits in a wheelchair beside a young girl sitting on a bench. The man is pointing up, and both he and the young girl are looking up and to the viewer’s left.

ASL/LSQ

All videos with spoken words (excluding music lyrics) are interpreted via ASL and LSQ on screen. It is important to note that the signers on the screen are not interpreters of ASL/LSQ, but members of the Deaf community. For some exhibits, the ASL and LSQ is delivered through the mobile app.

Braille

A Braille Gallery Guide is available upon request at the Ticketing and Information desk. This guide contains tactile maps of the galleries and English and French Braille. In addition, Braille is used on all Museum Universal Access Points to provide a code for use with the Museum’s mobile app.

Typography and print sizes

All of the exhibits adhere to strict graphic standards to ensure content is as accessible as possible. The exhibit fonts were chosen for maximum legibility and clarity. Type sizes, placement, and even small details such as paragraph alignment and line‐lengths were considered to make content easier to read.

Contrast

Colour contrast and Light Reflectance Value contrasts were designed to ensure sufficient contrast between the text and background to make text easier to read with different lighting conditions or visual impairments.

Descriptive audio

Our videos contain descriptive audio, using a narrator to read out loud on‐screen text, as well as to give a description of what is happening on screen.

Automated voice dubbing

This features uses descriptive audio as a means of dialogue and narration translation. Automated Voice Dubbing allows visitors to understand what is being said, even if the video is not originally in their first language of English and/or French.

Closed captioning

All videos with spoken words (excluding music lyrics) will have closed captioning in both English and French.

Seating

All of our theaters and exhibitions with seating offer a choice of bench seating and seating with backs and arms.

Accessibility concerns in the Museum or online

Have you noticed something that needs to be fixed or improved?

Use the buttons below to report your concerns, or contact us at info@humanrights.ca.

Accessibility Plan

Take a look at our Accessibility Plan 2023–2025.

Accessibility