Museum of the Haus der bayerischen Geschichte
Wanzl delivers inclusion trolleys
In June of this year, the Haus der bayerischen Geschichte (HDBG), which has been attracting visitors from all over Germany to its regional exhibitions at various historical locations in Bavaria for decades, opened its own museum in the middle of the Upper Palatinate state capital. Visitors can experience a treasure trove of knowledge with over 1,000 exhibits and multimedia installations on two floors. While the Bavarian State Exhibition "One Hundred Treasures in a Thousand Years” will be on display on the ground floor from 27 September 2019 to 8 March 2020, the permanent exhibition on the first floor, with personal objects and interactive, hands-on stations, shows Bavarian history across nine generations – from 1800 to the present. The inclusion trolley will be used here for special tours from the middle of the year.
The essence of the idea lies inside the trolley: it literally holds history. Jürgen Frank, Marketing Director of Wanzl, explains the concept: “Thanks to its base inlays, the trolley provides space for two baskets that are filled with appropriate, unique exhibits prior to the tour. The accompanying person then places these objects on the trolley table at selected points in the exhibition. The visually impaired person can now touch the historical exhibits and thus experience them in their own unforgettable way. The table is extendable, allowing the area to be enlarged as required. As soon as the visitor has touched and experienced the historical piece, it is simply put back inside the trolley."
Thanks to its narrow frame, the trolley passes easily through the corridors of the 2,500 square metre theatre of history, some of which are only one metre wide. The blue and white colour scheme is a homage to the Free State, while the plastic B on the front of the trolley is in itself history that can be touched: it represents the official logo of the HDBG for Bavaria and is designed in Fraktur font, which has also adorned the Bavarian constitution since 1818.
Dr Richard Loibl, Museum Director, is pleased with the use of the trolley: "We believe that we are welcoming and engaging our museum audience in a whole new way. Visitors, especially those who are visually impaired or blind, find it difficult to take part in popular exhibitions, as it is usually forbidden to touch the pieces. Wanzl's solution opens new horizons.”
