The idea

285 million people worldwide are visually impaired. The idea behind this exhibition is for the seeing world to understand what it feels like to be one of them, to experience life without the sense that provides us most information – the sight. Overcoming the obstacles blind people face in everyday life people learn how they can be helpful and more understanding towards them.

The invisible part of the exhibition

The guides in the exhibition are blind or partially sighted. Your eyes are useless while they walk you in complete darkness through 6 differently furnished rooms. By touch, sounds and sense you identify the objects around you and the situations you are in. You learn how they get through everyday situations like crossing the road or paying for a cup of coffee.

The visible part of the exhibition

In the visible part of the exhibition you see the objects visually impaired people use like a talking clock or pen. You can also learn more about the Braille Alphabet and write your name with a Braille typewriter.

A good example

Stockholm is a city that provides a lot of help to its blind citizens. They have pedestrian signals when crossing the street, house a braille library as a part of The Swedish Association of the Visually Impaired, and don’t separate the blind from the sighted students in school. This city’s overall positive example for proper attitude towards the visually impaired, as well as visiting the Invisible Exhibition in particular, can be a great empathy lesson for you and for your kids (they have to be at least 7 to visit the exhibition).

Useful information

The address of the museum is  Tullvaktsvägen 2, 115 56 Stockholm. It is open Monday through Sunday from 11 till 20 o’clock. Groups of 8 people start every 15 minutes. The last one is at 18:45. You can make your reservation online or via phone at least a day before the arrival. You have to be there 15 minutes before your reservation time.

Other cities where Invisible Exhibitions can be found are Budapest, Prague and Warsaw.

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Music booths

In the first room you can already enter a personal music booth. After scanning your card, you can choose what exactly you would like to hear and see from the touch screen. The music can only be heard by you, but you are divided from the surroundings only by glass, so you can see what is happening around.

Microphone sound

Microphones are hanging down from the ceiling on multiple spots around the museum. You re not expected to speak into them, but when you get close, they start sounding exclamations, laughter, breathing or coughing. From the first to the third floor, the microphones show Chopin s health, which is worst in front of the room describing his death.

Plasma screens for everyone

If you think I mean the kind of plasma screens that are found in bars or malls, you are mistaken. These screens are so finely integrated into the walls or the glass surfaces, that it is sometimes hard to guess where the screen ends and reality begins. Sometimes they show you film interpretations of Chopin s Etudes, other times they show his story through letters, sheet music or maps. The screens are everywhere and are activated either by approaching them or by scanning your card.

Musical books

There is a room in the museum with desks and headphones, and on the desks there are books with leather pages which are… blank. When you flip through them however, different information is projected onto the pages from the ceiling, including a player, from which you can play whatever you would like to hear by pressing the white pages.

You conduct the music

On the staircase, which shapes quite a large empty space, the designers of the museum have decided to create a game where people can compose whatever they want. This is done by stepping on certain places on the floor, and when different feet combinations are stepping on the assigned spots, the music is different. Despite looking funny, here the visitors get one more dose of exciting music.Imagine dozens of drawers in a very darkened room that are blinking and calling you to open them. When you pull the drawer out towards you, sheet music is projected from the ceiling and the speakers in front of you surround you with the notes written on the sheet.

Drawers full of music

It is hard to describe something that can t be found anywhere else, but we ll try. Imagine dozens of drawers in a very darkened room that are blinking and calling you to open them. When you pull the drawer out towards you, sheet music is projected from the ceiling and the speakers in front of you surround you with the notes written on the sheet. Of course, each drawer starts a different melody.

Chopin is no more

The room representing Chopin s death is completely black, with carved inscriptions in French and English describing the death. When you get near them, the words become lighter or darker, making you feel the tragedy of the genius and the pain of his close ones.

The musical benches

To top it all off, the museum has been nice enough to place benches throughout the whole city, in front of places that were key to the composer. On every bench there is a map of all those spots and a PLAY button, which when pressed starts music from under the bench. Like you re sitting at a Chopin concert.

Yes, Chopin was just born in Warsaw and didn t spend that much time there, but on the other hand he is there now, presented in a way that is difficult to miss or forget.

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The Curie Museum in Paris is one of my favorite places in the French capital because it is interactive, interesting and free of charge.

You will find some amazing information in this museum – not only will you learn that the radioactive elements discovered by the Curie family were used to make face creams, but you will also have the chance to see their original advertisements and packages. And you will not be left simply reading the Curie story, you will be invited before the interactive touch-screen where you can find the information that you are most interested in.

Curie Museum in Paris | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

The story is focused mostly on the life and work of two of the most famous couples in science – Pierre and Marie Curie, and Irène (their daughter) and Frédéric Joliot-Curie.

Once you enter the museum, you find yourself into one of the oldest buildings where the Curie family worked. At the former laboratories you will see the old-style instruments they used for their experiments with the newly-discovered radioactive elements. Their original works and developments on radiation are preserved at the museum, which also organizes training courses, lectures and discussions.

Curie Museum in Paris | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Apart from the scientific part of the tour you will also see examples of some of the most dangerous uses of the radioactive elements from the times when their benefits in terms of cancer treatment were already discovered but the side effects and risks were still unknown.

Curie Museum in Paris | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Radium was used in the face cream production, as well as for the cigarettes – you may see their original packages at the museum. The luminous radium paint, on the other hand, was used for the manufacturing of watches and clocks until the beginning of the 1950’s. In the past, there was also production of radioactive water, used in the bathtubs and to produce soft drinks. When the harm caused by the chemical element was discovered, it was declared a poison and in 1937 its use in cosmetic products was prohibited.

Curie Museum in Paris | © Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Useful information: The Curie Museum is situated on 1, Rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. The entrance is free but donations are welcomed. Working hours: Wednesday to Saturday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. (except on bank holidays). It’s also closed in August. More information here.

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Here’s a map of all the mentioned museums and galleries:

FREE MUSEUMS in London

#1 British Museum

Some of the greatest artifacts of human history are kept here – the Rosetta Stone, sculptures from the Parthenon in Athens, ancient Egyptian mummies and many more. Although the British Museum is free, a donation of £5 is recommended.

Opening hours: daily 10 am -5.30 pm (Fridays until 8.30 pm)

#2 Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum is where you and your kids will find answers to almost every evolution or animal question. The huge whale skeleton and the dinosaurs exhibits are the superstars of this venue.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.50 pm

#3 Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum is a treasury of art, design, fashion, and furniture design from different periods and styles.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.50 pm (Fridays until 10 pm)

#4 Museum of London

The Museum of London is where you can delve into the history of London since prehistoric times by strolling among recreated city areas from different epochs.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#5 Museum of London Docklands

Make it a little bit more specific and explore the history of London as an important port and a trade hub. The Museum of London Docklands is located in a warehouse that is two centuries old.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#6 Science Museum

Science becomes alive in the 3D and 4D simulators of the Science Museum where you can experience an Apollo space mission. This is the most visited science museum in Europe and you will quickly see why.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#7 V&A Museum of Childhood

This museum houses an impressive collection of toys and games from the last five centuries.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.45 pm

#8 Horniman Museum and Gardens

Horniman Museum and Garden is a real treasure that contains an aquarium, anthropology and natural history collections, musical instruments and manicured gardens.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5.30 pm

#9 Grant Museum of Zoology

This Victorian-style museum is full of skeletons, specimen in jars, and stuffed animals covering the whole animal kingdom.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 1 pm – 5 pm

#10 Bank of England Museum

Head to the Bank of England to delve into its history since its foundation in 1694 and learn about its famous customers through the centuries.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10 am – 5 pm

#11 Royal Air Force Museum

Spend a day among more than a hundred aircraft exhibited at the Royal Air Force Museum in London – entertaining for both kids and adults.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#12 Anaesthesia Museum

This quirky museum contains a collection of objects related to the history of pain relief and medicine.

Opening hours: Monday – Friday 10 am – 4 pm

#13 London Sewing Machine Museum

The London Sewing Machine Museum keeps a collection of 600 sewing machines, including the first Singer machine and machines owned by royalties. The museum only accepts visitors over 16 years.

Opening hours: Every first Saturday of the month 2 pm – 5 pm

#14 Queen’s House Greenwich

You have 22 rooms to visit and art from the last 400 years to explore at the Queen’s House in Greenwich.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 5 pm

#15 Kenwood House

Find a serene hidden gem in London at the Kenwood House. Kick back and unwind in the vast gardens or marvel at the Rembrandt’s self-portrait and other pieces of art hanging on the walls inside.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 4 pm

#16 Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum in London focuses on both the conflicts causing wars and how people are affected by wars.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm

#17 Hogarth House

You can see many pieces of art from the artist William Hogarth in his restored country home.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 12 am – 5 pm

FREE GALLERIES in London

#18 National Gallery

The National Gallery contains a huge collection of Western European art from Van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, Renoir, Rembrandt, and many more.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm (Fridays until 9 pm)

#19 National Portrait Gallery

If you want to browse through British history in faces, this is the best place to do it. The National Portrait Gallery will meet you face to face with queens, kings, and contemporary movie stars.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm (Thursdays and Fridays until 9 pm)

#20 Tate Modern

Immerse in the best modern art collection in Britain at the Tate Modern. You will see works of art by Salvador Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, and Andy Warhol among the others.

Opening hours: daily 10 am – 6 pm (Fridays and Saturdays until 10 pm)

#21 Tate Britain

Tate Britain contains the biggest collection of British art since the 1500’s until nowadays.

Opening hours: Saturday – Thursday 10 am – 6 pm (Fridays until 10 pm) 

#22 Newport Street Gallery

Newport Street Gallery is where the artists Damien Hirst has open his personal art collection to the public. The collection includes works of art by Banksy, Francis Bacon, Pablo Picasso, Tracey Emin and many more.

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday 10 am – 6 pm but check because the gallery is often closed for installations. 

Pinning this post is also free and it is also useful for your next London trip planning:

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