Canadian Museum for Human Rights

2015

Celebrating the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

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Educationisafundamentalhumanrightthat promotesindividualfreedomandempowerment. www.lrsd.net ChangingWorlds|ChangerleMonde atio es es C ca Educ d ote ote promo promo Welookforwardtoworking togetherformanyyears tocome. theforks.com #MeetMeAtTheForks Congratulations totheCMHRonits firstyearofmakinghistory www.pitblado.com C a n a d i a n M u s e u M f o r H u M a n r i g H t s - s u p p l e M e n t t o t H e W i n n i p e g f r e e p r e s s - s a t u r d a y, s e p t e M b e r 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 0 5 the CAnAdiAn muSeum For humAn rightS iS open tueSdAy through SundAy From 10 A.m. - 5 p.m., with extended hourS every wedneSdAy evening until 9 p.m. the muSeum iS AlSo open on thAnkSgiving mondAy, remembrAnCe dAy (1 p.m. - 9 p.m.), boxing dAy, new yeAr'S dAy, louiS riel dAy, good FridAy And eASter mondAy, viCtoriA dAy, CAnAdA dAy, And terry Fox dAy. generAl AdmiSSion iS $15 For AdultS, $12 For poSt-SeCondAry StudentS And SeniorS, $8 For youth (7 - 17 yeArS) And Free to Children under 7. FAmily AdmiSSion For up to two AdultS And Four Children/youth iS $42. Free AdmiSSion eveningS reSume oCt. 14 on wedneSdAyS From 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., And will be oFFered on the FirSt wedneSdAy oF eACh month StArting in november. ➤ Taking advantage of cutting-edge digital technology is so easy, it's literally child's play in some areas of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR). That simplicity was achieved through complex processes and collaboration with global experts — creating the award-winning mobile app was a two-year project on its own — but the end result is a museum that's uniquely accessible to visitors of all abilities. "In our case it's really been a driver of innovation," says CMHR manager of digital platforms Scott Gillam. "There really is something for everybody, no matter what your comfort is with technology or what your abilities might be." Visitors can download the app at no cost from the Apple App Store or Google Play, or borrow a preloaded iPod at the information desk. It includes a self-guided tour with commentary from the CMHR's experts and access to image galleries, an interactive map, online ticketing and features to assist visitors who are blind or hard of hearing. Users can view American Sign Language and the French equivalent, Langue des signes québécoise, as well as closed captioning. "And of course there's also transcripts of all audio components so that whatever the ability of the visitor they're able to share in the same experience as everyone else," Gillam says. "There is augmented reality for when you're in the terrace or in the Tower of Hope. You can use the camera of the device to actually look through and see hot spots on the Winnipeg skyline that tell you additional information — about St. Boniface, about the Exchange District, about the Canadian Prairie, but what we also added was an interactive panorama and the panorama is available wherever you are, so if you have the app and you go home and you want to remember what it's like to look out from the Tower of Hope you can actually pull up the Tower of Hope within the app." In May, the museum won a Jodi award, presented at the British Library, with judges citing the CMHR as "a beacon of excellence in digital inclusivity, not only in Canada but worldwide." Just last week, it won the gold award for Best App in the International Design and Communications Awards for museums around the world. The award was presented in Istanbul, Turkey at the international Communicating the Museum conference. And in April, the CMHR won four MUSE Awards, presented by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Media & Technology Committee, in Atlanta, Ga., for its mobile app, interactive Lights of Inclusion and Actions Count games and digital infrastructure, which allows staff to continually change and update exhibitions. "There's been a high focus on building an infrastructure that's really going to be sustainable for us over time," Gillam says. "As we add educational resources, as we change the exhibitry, bring in new artifacts, host other exhibits as well as create our own exhibits, we wanted to be able to easily curate those stories and be able to showcase them on all platforms, whether it's a website, whether it's a mobile application, whether it's a game, whether it's programming in gallery or to remote audiences." ▲ digital technology focuses on accessibility PLAN YOUR VISIT Cmhr exhibiTs by AAron Cohen

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