A New Version of the App I’m Going to the Museum

I’m Going to the Museum is the first app that helps people with developmental disabilities, their parents, and those accompanying them to learn more about museums and art.

The app brings together all of the relevant inclusive materials in a convenient format. The project aims to promote visits to cultural institutions, facilitate leisure choices, and make trips to museums more predictable and comfortable.

The new version of the app is a space for accessing materials and the latest information about visiting and accessibility at Garage and other cultural institutions, which can upload details of their own programs and themed events.

Users can find basic information about the museums that are part of the project—address, opening hours, schedule of events—and familiarize themselves with adapted materials in advance, including guides for independent visiting, easy-read versions of visit rules, and photographs of the spaces.

The app was constructed using the principles of participative design. At various stages of development, the team consulted end users, working together to identify various barriers, including areas that were difficult to understand, and overcome them. The main problems on visiting museums and cultural institutions were lack of accessibility, the uncoordinated nature of information on current programs, and the fear of visiting new spaces. In working on these problems, the team created a new version of the app with the support of Svet Foundation as part of the competitive grant program Without Exclusion.

As well as Garage, the app currently includes information about the Museum of Cryptography. Materials on other Russian museums will be available soon.