The Mary Rose is committed to making the Mary Rose as accessible as possible. Thanks to our partnerships with two local special schools, the Mary Rose School, Portsmouth and St Anthony’s School, Chichester we have made significant changes to the Museum and our Learning programme to improve access. We are happy to do what we can to make visits as enjoyable as possible.
FACILITIES
- The Museum and classrooms are fully wheelchair accessible
- Accessible toilets in the Mary Rose Museum and Boathouse 7 (although no hoist or changing facility)
- Accessible theatre with audio loop
- Entry for carers is free
MUSEUM
- The Museum has a range of sensory experiences – object handling; music; smells, audio visual; tactile painting.
- Staff and volunteers are on hand to demonstrate artefacts to pupils or answer questions. Please ask. A tailored tour may be arranged before your visit.
- Light levels are low because of the conservation needs of collection. You may wish to warn pupils before they go in.
- There are staff in Tudor costume and several wax models
- Due to the historic nature of the building the floor has some uneven surfaces
- Resources in symbol-supported text are available to download as well as pupil notes in various languages
- Two tours for special needs visitors are available. An audio tour for visually impaired people and a signing tour for hearing impaired visitors. They are not designed specifically for children so may be more suitable for confident signers and older pupils.
WORKSHOPS
- Standard workshops are designed to be as inclusive as possible with plenty of hands-on work using our extensive handling collection of replica objects and costumes. Please let session leaders know about any pupils with special needs at the beginning of the session. We are happy to tailor workshops to your needs. There is a special needs workshop which focuses on Tudor clothes and eating and drinking.
- Gun Drill – if you choose this option be aware there is a cannon sound effect and we usually show pupils how dark it would be in the ship. Please tell us if anyone would be disturbed by either of these things.
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