The Roman Baths to partner with The Sensational Museum

The Roman Baths in the centre of the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath has been announced as a pilot museum for a ground-breaking research project with The Sensational Museum.

The Sensational Museum is an AHRC-funded £1m interdisciplinary research project which radically re-thinks the role of the senses in museums and explores how these spaces can truly work for everyone. 

As a pilot museum The Roman Baths will test prototype resources and tools recently developed by The Sensational Museum, its project partners and industry professionals. By using these tools, the museum will explore new and exciting ways of working in a multisensory way to transform how visitors experience the site.

Offering some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in England, an award-winning museum, and immersive audio and visual interpretation the Roman Baths already offers a unique time capsule of life in Roman Britain. The partnership with the Sensational Museum offers the chance to explore how further senses can add to the richness of the experience for all.

Image: The Roman Baths, credit Lloyd Evans Photography

Councillor Paul Roper, Cabinet Member for Economic & Cultural Sustainable Development, Bath & North East Somerset Council said: “We are thrilled to be working with the Sensational Museum as a pilot museum for this exciting and ambitious project. This could transform how museums interpret spaces and collections, and we can’t wait to see, hear, feel, or even smell how the senses can help bring our unique site to life for everyone.”

Professor Hannah Thompson (Royal Holloway, University of London), project lead for The Sensational Museum says: “Many people want or need to access and process information in ways that are not only – or not entirely – visual. But museums are very sight-dependent places. Let’s imagine a museum experience that plays to whichever senses work best for you. The project aims to give all visitors inclusive, engaging, enjoyable and memorable experiences.”

Research and testing of new sensory experiences will take place over the next year.

To learn more about The Sensational Museum, visit their website: https://sensationalmuseum.org/.