The Pitt Rivers Museum has been awarded £70,500 from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, which allows cultural institutions to increase access, transform displays and enhance public spaces.
The award will fund the museum's Engaging the Senses project, which aims to improve access to the collections through the use of innovative digital technology. A new interactive table top, listening station and interactive screen will allow visitors to search through the museum's digital collections, hear unique historical field recordings, and view film footage and photographs from around the world.
By introducing elements of digital exploration and learning into the Victorian-age galleries, the project will significantly improve the current visitor experience for a variety of audiences, including those with disabilities, as well as local communities and the wider public.
Dr Laura Van Broekhoven, Director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, says: 'We are very grateful to DCMS/Wolfson for this opportunity to allow our visitors to access the full breadth and depth of the collections, now also giving access to unique sound recordings, photography and film. The project will allow us to show many more fascinating historical and cultural facets of the collection.'
Dr Chris Morton, Curator of Photograph Collections, adds: 'There is currently very little opportunity to show these collections to our visitors among the museum's dense displays, but the sensitive use of digital interactive technology in the historic museum space will allow us to enhance the visitor experience considerably.'
Since being established in 2001, the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund has given £48 million to help 382 projects at 114 museum groups and galleries.
Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, says: 'The DCMS/Wolfson Fund demonstrates how the government and philanthropic organisations can work together to boost our museum sector. We want people up and down the country to enjoy culture and heritage wherever they are.'