“Inclusive education” is also an important theme at the Bauhaus-Archiv in Berlin. Accordingly, its educational provisions are designed for everyone and ensure equal participation for persons with disabilities, for instance the visually impaired. The accessible guided tours are designed to be logical, multi-sensory and interactive. Reproductions of selected objects in the collection, a tactile floor plan of the museum and other materials bring the content to life and convey the cornerstones of design principles at the Bauhaus.
Bettina Güldner is one of the freelance museum guides at the Bauhaus-Archiv offering accessible guided tours. She has made much of the equipment for her guided tours herself: A tactile chart reconstructs the composition of a work by Kandinsky; another allows visitors to feel and sense different materials and their properties. A further interactive option features thin, white metal rods on a contrasting black background, which allow participants to recreate compositions.
On occasion, Bettina Güldner also takes her participants away from two-dimensionality towards an experience of space. In the film, she explains how this works. It doesn’t take much: One table, one stool, two buckets, one ladder, a blanket and a contrasting red rope are enough to enter into the heart of a still life from Kandinsky’s preliminary course and to trace its geometric structure.
The accessible guided tours in the Bauhaus-Archiv are free of charge. Reservations must be made in advance. To find out more, visit www.bauhaus.de.