Deaf visitors to the new, interactive Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum can have a tour presented in sign language using the latest hand-held video technology.
The system - developed by accessible multimedia specialists, EyeGaze - helps the Museum meet its DDA obligations and ensures that deaf sign language users get a real understanding and feel for the history and personalities of one of the world's greatest sporting arenas.
Like all the Museum visitors, deaf sign language users receive a hand-held device when they enter the Museum. But the screen for deaf people displays
more than two hours of video of three signing e-guides who take them on the tour, explaining exhibits and bringing the past and present of lawn tennis
history to life.
Mick Canavan, Director of EyeGaze says: “We selected three main presenters who do a fantastic job of communicating the excitement of Wimbledon and its history in a friendly, one-to-one style.
“The response from deaf visitors has been terrific and we hope that visitor attractions across the country will be encouraged to commission similar multimedia guides to improve access for deaf and disabled people.”
Deaf visitors to the Museum experience what it is like to play a match on the Centre Court. In the Museum's 2000 Cinema, the action takes place all around the visitor and details the exact science of almost every aspect of a Maria Sharapova match.
Elsewhere, tennis legend John McEnroe appears as a 3-D ghost walking through a recreation of the 1980s Gentlemen's Dressing Room and speaks to deaf visitors with the help of a Deaf presenter using sign language.
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