Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability & Diversity Image Description: Center on Disability Studies logo. The Science Communication Tour with a Sign Language Interpreter Miki Namatame, Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba, Japan, miki@a.tsukuba- tech.ac.jp Masami Kitamura, Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba, Japan Seiji Iwasaki, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan Recommended Citation Namatame, M., Kitamura, M., & Iwasaki, S. (2020). The Science Communication Tour with a Sign Language Interpreter. Pacific Rim International Conference on Disability and Diversity Conference Proceedings. Honolulu, Hawai'i: Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center on Disability Studies, ISSN 2641-6115. Image Description: Creative Commons license CC-BY icon. ---Page i--- The Science Communication Tour with a Sign Language Interpreter Miki Namatame Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba, Japan Masami Kitamura Tsukuba University of Technology, Tsukuba, Japan Seiji Iwasaki National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan Abstract: In February 2018, 70-people with hearing loss indicated the lack of necessary information or knowledge at museums in Japan. The visitors who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing want cooperation with sign language interpreters in museums. The researchers planned a tour with a sign language interpreter in the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan, on 29th April 2019. The evaluation of the tour with sign language interpreters indicated that the levels of effectiveness, satisfaction, and necessity were high, and that the level of learnability by sign language was acceptable but in writing was low. Simultaneously, this experimental guided tour showed that sign language was necessary to improve information accessibility and science communication in science museums for d/Deaf visitors facilitated by sign language in Japan. Keywords: Science Museum; Sign Language; Guided Tour Knowledge Focus: Best Practices Topic Area: Inclusion Introduction There are 466 million people in the world who have hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization (2019), 70 million of whom use sign language as their first language or mother tongue (Iu Krak, 2017). In our previous survey-from June 30th, 2017 to February 21st, 2018, in Japan)-70-people with hearing loss indicated the lack of necessary information or knowledge at museums. In addition, our survey had shown that museum visitors who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing want cooperation with sign language interpreters. Currently, museums seek to reflect information in the discussion of museum research, policy, and practices. The National Museum of American History has prepared guidelines for accessible exhibition1. Many museums around the world have programs for sign language users. For example, the Metropolitan Museum of Art2 and the Van Gogh Museum3 provide sign language interpreter services upon request. The New Museum regularly hosts American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting tours4. Some museums and associations have developed guidelines based on the principles of universal design (Center for Universal Design, 1997), barrier-free (Hammarmen & Duncan, 1974), and inclusive \ ---Page 1--- design (Museumsbund, 2017). These aspects indicate that advocacy for the disabled has been a priority for most museums since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA 1990), the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995) and many countries in the world enacted laws. Research Question Can tours with sign language interpreters at the Science Museum facilitate scientific communication? Evaluation of the Tour with an Interpreter In April 2019, the researchers planned a sign language interpreted tour at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan5. The host team consisted of three members: a curator who was a museum staff, a sign language interpreter, and a supporter to present technical terms by text. Figure 1. Practice tour with sign language interpreter at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. Figure 1 Image Description: from left, a sign language interpreter, a curator, a supporter, and four participants. After the tour mentioned above concluded, four participants evaluated it via a questionnaire using a six-step Likert scale (1: Strong disagree, 2: Disagree, 3: Weak disagree, 4: Weak agree, 5: Agree, 6: Strong agree). We used the average score as the evaluation point. The results indicated that the effectiveness of the tour, satisfaction of the interface, and necessity of a sign language tour were high (5.0 points), and the learnability from sign language was at an ---Page 2--- acceptable level (4.3 points). However, the learnability in writing was low (3.8 points). The researchers found that sign language is necessary to improve information accessibility in science museums in Japan. Results The evaluation of the tour with sign language interpreters indicated that the levels of effectiveness, satisfaction, and necessity were high (5 points / Agree), and that the level of learnability by sign language was acceptable but in writing was low (almost 4 points / Weak agree). Therefore, we carried out an interview with the visitors, the curator and the interpreter in order to clear the problem, and traced alterations of their primary purpose. The result was as follows. Impressions of Visitors (D/deaf or Hard-of-Hearing Students) * It was hard to read sign language for words such as meteorites or pendulums. * It was good that there was no interval between the curator's explanation and the speed of sign language. * I was able to understand the knowledge and content of the sign language. * It was good to hear what I wanted to know. * Some places were dark and hard to see. Opinions of a Curator * I was a little confused because I could not understand the progress of the explanation of the sign language interpreter. * I tried to start explaining after the visitors gathered. * I had a hard time getting attention when visitors went to view other exhibits or when the group had spread. Suggestions of a Sign Language Interpreter * Confirming the expressions of technical terms with the participants before the tour leads to the advantage that participants can select sign language they are accustomed to, or associate an unfamiliar technical sign language with a visible sign. * Meetings from the preparation stage on content, speed of progress, amount of explanation, will improve the quality of the tour. Changes Before and After the Tour Participants were asked about their primary purpose to visit the museum before and after the tour. Before the tour, the purpose of visiting the museum was to "see the exhibits" or "obtain new knowledge," but after the tour, it changed to "obtain new knowledge" only. ---Page 3--- Conclusion The evaluation of the tour with sign language interpreters indicated that the levels of effectiveness, satisfaction, and necessity were high and that the level of learnability by sign language was acceptable but in writing was low. The participants' reasons for going to the museum were to "see the exhibits" or "get new knowledge" before the tour, but afterward, the motivation changed to "get new knowledge" only. These results indicated that science communication for d/Deaf visitors at the science museum was promoted by sign language. However, at the same time, it was also clarified that there were specific problems with comprehensibility in the explanations of exhibitions with many technical terms. We, therefore, intend to explore methods of representation in sign language and in writing to facilitate better descriptions of such science museum exhibitions. Authors Miki Namatame is a professor at the National University Corporation Tsukuba University of Technology, where Miki researches information-accessibility for the people with hearing and/or visual disabilities, including Universal design and barrier-free. Before starting her research of information sciences of museums for the people with disabilities, at museums. Miki also provided higher education at the Department of Synthetic Design for people with hearing disabilities. After a successful career educating people with hearing disabilities, Miki now researches how to support visitors with hearing and/or visual disabilities at museums. Image Description: Photo of Miki Namatame Masami Kitamura works at the Tsukuba University of Technology, Ibaraki. Seiji Iwasaki works at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo. Author Note This preliminary experiment sponsored by the grant from JSPS KAKENHI (#18H01046.) We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Miki N. The National University Corporation of Tsukuba University of Technology, Faculty of Industrial Technology, 305-8520, JPN. miki@a.tsukuba-tech.ac.jp. References Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA 1990). (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2020, from https://www.ada.gov/2010_regs.htm. Center for Universal Design. (1997). Principles of Universal Design. Retrieved from https://projects.ncsu.edu/ncsu/design/cud/about_ud/udprinciples.htm Disability Discrimination Act (DDA 1995). (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2020, from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1995/50/contents. ---Page 4--- Hammarmen, S., & Duncan, S. (1974). Barrier-Free Design. New York. Iu Krak, E. (2017). Information technology for automated translation from inflected language to sign language. In J. S. edited Waldemar Wójcik, Recent Advances in Information Technology (p. Chapter 3). CRC Press. Museumsbund. (2017). Das inklusive Museum - Ein Leitfaden zu Barrierefreiheit und Inklusion. Retrieved from https://www.museumsbund.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/dmb- barrierefreiheit-digital-160728.pdf National Museum of Nature and Science. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.kahaku.go.jp/english. Smithsonian Accessibility Program. (n.d.). Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design. Retrieved from https://www.sifacilities.si.edu/ae_center/pdf/Accessible- Exhibition-Design.pdf. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (n.d.). For visitors who are deaf. Retrieved February 1, 2020, from https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/access/visitors-who-are-deaf. Last accessed 2020/2/1 Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. (n.d.). Deaf visitors and the hard of hearing. Retrieved May 20, 2020, from https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/plan-your-visit/accessibility/deaf- visitors-and-the-hard-of-hearing. World Health Organization. (2019). Deafness and hearing loss. Retrieved March 1, 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss (last accessed 2020/3/1). Endnotes 1. See the National Museum of American History's Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design at https://www.sifacilities.si.edu/ae_center/pdf/Accessible-Exhibition- Design.pdf. 2. See The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, NY. USA: Visitors with Disabilities https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/access/visitors-who-are-deaf. 3. See website Deaf visitors and the hard of hearing, Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/plan-your-visit/accessibility/deaf-visitors-and-the-hard- of-hearing. 4. New Museum. New York, NY. USA: American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreted Tour https://www.newmuseum.org/calendar/view/1523/asl-tour-1 (last accessed 2020/2/1). 5. National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo https://www.kahaku.go.jp/english. ---Page 5--- ---END OF DOCUMENT---