BOSTON — Just in time for celebrations for America’s 250th, the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum is adding a new feature to help even more visitors enjoy their experience.
The museum added a new piece of technology that allows those with low vision to look even deeper into the past.
Even before stepping foot onto the Boston Tea Party ships, the museum takes you back to the 18th century and the events that took place on that historic night of December 16, 1773. The museum features live actors, interactive exhibits, and full-scale replica 18th-century sailing vessels to allow visitors to fully immerse themselves into the pivotal event in American history.
“The Boston Tea Party is one of the most iconic events, not just in American history, but world history. It’s in every school textbook,” said Evan O’Brien, the Creative Manager of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum.
Creative Manager of the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum Evan O’Brien says this museum allows visitors to involve themselves in a living and breathing wharf.
“You’re coming to a museum of experience,” said O’Brien. “By that I mean we immerse you fully into what led up to the Boston Tea Party, what happened that night, and into the aftermath of that dramatic event.”
But from day one, this floating museum full of gangways and dark, tight spaces has posed some challenges.
“We’ve always wanted to make this museum as accessible to everybody as we could,” said Ted Galo, the Operations Manager at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum.
The museum’s Operations Manager Ted Galo is always working to make it as inclusive as possible by offering translation guides and making it handicap accessible. Now, he’s assisting low-vision individuals fully experience history.
“You have a spectrum where you have people that have your perfect 20/20 vision, and you have the people that are completely blind,” said Galo. “And there’s that middle area of people that have conditions of some sort all along that spectrum. There’s not a lot for them.”
Until now. The museum has a partnership with a free mobile app called Rebokeh, which helps people with low vision adjust the appearance of the area around them to fit their specific needs.
“You can play with gray scales, inverted yellow,” said Galo. “Some people see better yellow on blue.”
The app allows users to leverage the live camera feed from their phone with different features, and it also offers AI to describe what’s around them. Now visitors with low vision can enjoy the same details as everyone else.
“So we want to make sure as many people of different walks, types, languages, and physical challenges can have the same experience as everybody else,” said Galo.
In the revolutionary spirit of inclusion, the museum is proud to offer this just in time for America’s 250th celebration, in hopes that more people understand what paved the road to our country’s independence.
“We had no idea that the Boston Tea Party was the single most important event leading up to the American Revolution, that catalyst that propelled us down the road to revolution,” said O’Brien. “We also had no idea that ordinary people took part, and that those people are similar to us today, and that we can really affect change in our community and our world.”
The Rebokeh app is free for visitors while at the museum. Users can ask it personalized questions, and it works in multiple languages.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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