On 14 February 2025 the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester opened Operation Ouch! Brains Bogies and You – the second collaboration between the Science Museum Group, the CBBC and Objective Media Group. In this exhibition visitors journey through an ear canal, past sticky snot before plunging headfirst into the incredible world of our senses.
How did the team behind this exhibition ensure this immersive, sensory exhibition was open to all? Kate Fox, External Access Consultant, and Hannah Clapham-Clark, Public Programme Manager at the Science and Industry Museum tell us more.
What principles did you follow when devising and designing this exhibition?
We had several key principles that guided our approach to access in this exhibition. We made sure that access was built into the exhibition from the start, rather than added afterwards. We had a rule that there should be at least ‘two ways in’ to each exhibit. So, for example, an object could be explored visually or through touch, or a digital interactive would have a visual and audible prompt or reward.
Both of these approaches were informed by the idea of ‘sensory gain’ which shows us that everyone can benefit from the access traditionally offered to Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent visitors. ‘Sensory Gain’ suggests that engaging several senses can enhance a person’s experience of something whether or not they need to use that sense for ‘access’ purposes. (The Sensational Museum, accessed 09 July 2024) .
We also thought carefully about how and where disability shows up in the exhibition. For example, it was really important that the lived experience of our disabled ‘Ouchers’ was showcased in the section focused on a sense they use, rather than one they don’t – so our excellent echo-location expert is featured in the Sound zone.
This is the second collaboration with BBC Ouch (the last exhibition Food, Poo and You closed in June 2024). Were there any things you did differently or continued from the last exhibition?
We worked closely with the BBC to ensure our approach to access and inclusivity was worked through across both exhibitions. We felt that due to the core subject matter of this exhibition being senses, there were various ways we could push ourselves even further this time.
One of the things we did differently was bringing the objects to life in a more sensory way: for example, there is a big tactile replica of a gold coin that people can touch and feel, or a smell diffuser to replicate what a vinaigrette might have smelt like; there are also physical replicas of an optical illusion from the Science Museum Group Collection to make them more tangible.
We also adapted the ‘two ways in’ approach across most of our interactives. In Hearing, for example, there is both an auditory and visual element to the ‘lift the flap’ style experiences.
We have also softened sensory language and used inclusive terms throughout the exhibition. Continuing from the last exhibition, we featured a ‘chill out’ zone (this time called Mindboosters) as we received a lot of positive feedback, particularly from neurodivergent visitors who appreciated a place to take a rest if things became over stimulating. There are beans backs, light up clouds and a guided meditation from Dr Chris himself in there.
Throughout the exhibition ‘Ouchers’ reflect on their own individual sensory experiences. Why was this important to include?
We shifted our approach to Oucher stories from the last Operation Ouch exhibition to focus solely on children. It felt important to highlight how young people use their senses to explore the world rather than emphasising what they are perceived to ‘lack.’ We also wanted to ensure authentic representation with young people helping shape how their sensory experiences and disabilities are portrayed in the exhibition, including the language used.
Our Associate Curator, Andrea Lathrop, collaborated with local partners to find incredible young people who generously shared their perspectives. Their stories are also accessible in the gallery so visitors can watch Nate tell his story in BSL or listen to Alfie describe his experience of navigating life with visual impairment.
What was the biggest challenge when designing the exhibition?
Access provided lots of opportunities for creativity and innovation for us during this process rather than specific challenges. Our brilliant designers, Drinkall Dean, were on board from the beginning to push what we could do and ensure that the most amount of people get the most amount of out of the exhibition.
We also worked with Kate, our Access Consultant, from the very beginning of the design process so that we could avoid various challenges that might come from thinking of access later down the line and ensured that access always remained a priority.
What is your favourite section?
Touch has to be one of our favourite. It provides a dedicated space for early years visitors (Mini Medics) decked out with pink carpet and lots of fun but simple interactives which is a new approach for us, and it is really lovely to see babies also getting something out of the exhibition albeit in a different way. It also has gold coins for Henry VIII’s reign, a giant replica of Dr Chris’ foot that you can prod and tickle as well as a tunnel and big wall of amazing textures and feels.
There are a number of events which will run alongside this exhibition. What can visitors expect from these?
We are trialling an audio description for this exhibition which we don’t typically have the resources to do for temporary exhibitions but felt particularly important for this exhibition. It will be led by children’s thoughts and voices in collaboration with Hideout Youth Zone and Henshaw’s in Manchester and will be available in the next couple of months.
We are also developing tactile tours in consultation with Henshaw’s to provide a different way for people to experience the space. We will also continue with British Sign Language tours in collaboration with Manchester Deaf Centre which have proved really popular with audiences and our volunteers continue to do brilliant work bringing our collections to life in a sensory way with object handling sessions.
Explore our sense-ational exhibition Operation Ouch! Brains, Bogies and You at the Science and Industry Museum until 4 January 2026.