DiD Thailand (National Science Museum)

Dialogue in the Dark (DiD) is an hour long tour where participants holding a blind cane are led by blind guides through a pitch dark exhibition hall consisting of several rooms to get a first-hand experience of the world of the visually impaired. The exciting and adventurous experience consists of navigating in the dark, conducting monetary transactions, eating snacks,
and even riding a motor vehicle through town. The First DiD tour took place here in Thailand in September 2008 at the Science Festival, BITEC. The feedback from visitors was very positive, since it provided them mind-opening insight into the world of the visually impaired. This experience reportedly uplifted the spirits of those attending, putting a smile on their faces as they exited the darkness of the exhibition hall. The exhibition enabled the participating public to appreciate the unexpected abilities of the blind and realize the importance of the sense of vision. Also, the work opportunity for the blind as tour guides appears to provide the guides a greater job satisfaction and improved self-worth. Observing the benefits of the exhibition to the general public and the tour guides alike, our vice president decided to make DiD a one year exhibition at the Science Square, a branch of our National Science Museum located in the heart of Bangkok.

The construction of the exhibition had to take into account safety concerns for the visitors since the walkway is pitch dark. For visitors’ safety, there are emergency lights in every exhibition’s rooms. Assuredly, there are fire & safety equipments such as fire alarms, smoke alarms, heat detectors in the exhibition as well. Thus, the construction took around a year and a half to
complete. The construction was completed in October 2010. I (Belle) was assigned to take care of the DiD exhibition just a few months before the guides were recruited and trained. In early September 2010 we began the recruitment of visually impaired persons to serve as guides at this
second Dialogue in the Dark site by placing an announcement through the Thailand Association of the Blind. We interviewed many enthusiastic and highly energetic candidates, after which we (NSM team), Daniela and Volker (two of our master guides) and Laura (director of Dialogue in the dark), selected 16 candidates. The candidates were quick in developing the required skills in communication and hospitality with their self-confidence visibly improving throughout the training process. All the guides had their trial tour during September 14-15, 2010. We also trained our sighted volunteers who work at the museum alongside our blind guides to take on the role of lobby staff and facilitators, working under my management.

We worked very hard during the first period, hoping to achieve the best possible outcome. We had free tours for about 3 weeks starting September 24th, until our grand opening on October 15th. We had many visitors during the free tour period. After the grand opening many group tours from schools and universities have visited us, in addition to tours by families, tourists, couples, and individuals. The tour appears to have a greater impact on the children and students, as they appear to find it somewhat frightening yet exciting, often comparing it to an amusement park ride. As of today, two TV programs have visited the DiD exhibition to make their scoop story on the exhibition. The positive publicity has further sparked the interest of the general public to attend our exciting, must-experience Dialog in the Dark exhibition. Thus, in addition to bringing us closer to our vision of expanding public knowledge on issues of science and technology, DiD also improves people’s appreciation for the social diversity afforded us by a mixed community of people from all walks of life, including the visually impaired.

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