Museum offers tours for the blind

Angel Ayala touches a replica of a vessel during the classroom segment of a special tour at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

Ayala, 16 and blind since birth, touched ancient Egyptian artifacts at the University of Pennsylvania archaeology museum as part of a special tour for the blind and visually impaired.

The museum began offering the tours in 2012 as part of an initiative to make their extensive collection more accessible.

Penn Museum

Angel Ayala, left, Tatyana Allen, center and Katie Maunder touch a page of reproduced hieroglyphics near a quartzite likeness of Ramesses II during a special tour at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

"When I touch things, it's my version of a sighted person's eyes. It tells me way more than a person describing it would ever," Ayala said.

Penn Museum

Katie Maunder, left, reaches out to touch a replica of a mummy as blind high school student Angel Ayala, 16, center, visually impaired high school student Tatyana Allen, 16, right and blind high school student Cache Ballard, 16, participate in the classroom segment of a special tour at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

Most major U.S. metro areas have at least one museum that offers some type of hands-on experience, from touching objects with bare hands or gloves to feeling replicas, according to Art Beyond Sight, a group that makes visual culture accessible to the blind and visually impaired.

Penn Museum

Docen Austin Seraphin, left, blind high school student Angel Ayala, center and blind high school student Cache Ballard, right, raise their arms as part of a lesson during a special tour for the blind and visually impaired at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

The Penn Museum has held hands-on tours twice each Monday - when the building is otherwise closed - for the past two fall seasons.

Penn Museum

Angel Ayala touches a quartzite likeness of Ramesses II at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

Students sanitized their hands before feeling the pieces, which were pre-selected by conservators. Though thousands of years old, the artifacts shouldn't be damaged by clean fingers and a light touch, according to museum program coordinator Trish Maunder.

Penn Museum

Blind and visually impaired visitors touch a quartzite likeness of Ramesses II at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

Overall, the museum is engaging with nearly 250 blind or visually impaired people this fall, up about 32 percent from last year, Maunder said. Educators are already planning next season's curriculum on ancient Rome.

Penn Museum

Austin Seraphin, center, sits beside blind high school students Angel Ayala, 16, right, and Cache Ballard, 16, as they gather near a quartzite likeness of Ramesses II during a special tour at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

Penn Museum

Angel Ayala, left, and Austin Seraphin touch a quartzite likeness of Ramesses II at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.

Penn Museum

Blind and visually impaired visitors and their teachers listen to lead docent Gene McGee speak in front of a quartzite likeness of Ramesses II at the Penn Museum in Philadelphia, Nov. 25, 2013.