FEATURE Laugh Together, Learn Together

Laugh Together, Learn Together Museums as Spaces for Well-Being

By Alexandra Weaver, Visitor Experience Manager, and Chris O’Connor, Learning Program Developer

In a world that seems increasingly fragmented and isolated, where people crave authentic and meaningful interactions with each other but find it more and more challenging to create them, museums have a crucial role to play. Museums are thinking and feeling spaces, generally trusted spaces, and they provide opportunities for genuine collective experience. In the Learning department, as we are crafting ideas for programs, we are very mindful of the responsibility we have to create environments for people to come together and learn. We are exploring new ways of bringing well-being into our programming and connecting people with each other.

something larger than their typical visit to the museum. Abdul and Shawn are expert storytellers and hilarious comedians, and their performance is equal parts earnest and absurd.

The groups laughed together and talked to each other (friends and strangers alike) about what stories they liked best. There was tangible joy shared, and a common response as people were leaving was “That made me feel good.” Sometimes museums and healing can be as simple and meaningful as that.

You can join Abdul and Shawn again for Fake Ghost Tours: Gold Diggers, April 1, 3, 4 and 5.

Our spring program has two exciting new opportunities designed with mindfulness and well-being at the centre.

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE There is radical healing within just the simple act of coming together with a shared purpose, and laughter is a direct line to this kind of well-being.

This past October we invited Abdul Aziz and Shawn O’Hara to perform their Fake Ghost Tours within our Becoming BC gallery. Over four nights, and to sold-out crowds totalling nearly 500 people, Abdul and Shawn took audiences around all the nooks and crannies of the gallery and invited them to imagine a different story of British Columbia, through real objects and less-than-real stories. Audiences were captivated and knew they were part of SENSORY-FRIENDLY PLAY The Royal BC Museum is proud to announce that we have partnered with the Canucks Autism Network and IMAX Victoria to offer a sensory-friendly experience for guests with neurodevelopment differences.

In March 2018, the National Autism Spectrum Disorder Surveillance System released the most up-to-date Canadian prevalence rate: 1 in 66 Canadian children and youth (ages 5–17) are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), making ASD one of the most common developmental differences. With all the lights, sounds and crowds, museums can be an overwhelming place for people with sensory sensitivities.

through play in an environment that supports the unique needs of people with ASD. Museum staff and volunteers will receive customer service training by Canucks Autism Network training facilitators to help them understand what to expect, how to react and what community resources are available to help our visitors.

The sensory-friendly event will be held outside the museum’s regular general admission hours. Changes will be made to the museum’s exhibit spaces, with the intention of helping make the museum more accessible and enjoyable for those with sensory issues. What will some of these changes look like? • L ighting will be turned down in our b righter galleries, while in our darker g alleries it will be raised. • T he hand dryers will be turned off, a nd paper towels will be available in a ll bathrooms. • S ound will be turned down in the B ecoming BC galleries • T he Learning Centre will be open as a s ensory space with quiet activities and s ensory-friendly toys. • A s torybook, made in partnership with C anucks Autism Network, will be a vailable on our website to help our g uests prepare for their visit. • S imple signage assisting with wayfinding wi ll be posted.

IMAX Victoria will host two sensoryfriendly screenings of a 45-minute documentary in conjunction with the early-morning museum opening. Realizing that attending an IMAX experience movie can be prohibitive for those with neurodevelopmental differences, IMAX Victoria will keep some lights on, volume will be lowered, doors will be left open, and movement and discussion during the film will not be restricted in any way.

Our primary goal in offering this program is to create a welcoming, supportive and fun environment for families to play and explore together. We plan to make

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sensory-friendly museum openings a regular event in the future.

If you’re looking for a way to make connections, laugh or just feel better, consider joining us at the Royal BC Museum for one of our specially designed programs. We’re looking forward to meeting you.

Sensory-friendly play presented in partnership with

1. Noise cancelling headphones can aid auditory sensitivities.

FAKE GHOST TOURS 2: GOLD DIGGERS April 1, 3, 4 and 5 6:00, 7:30 and 9:00 PM $20 per person Recommended for audiences 12+

SENSORY-FRIENDLY MUSEUM OPENING April 26 Museum visit 8:00–10:00 AM IMAX show 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM Registration required

For more information on these and other events visit rbcm.ca/programguide