Good signs for Golden Dragon Museum

HERITAGE attraction the Golden Dragon Museum is now more accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing after the introduction of a new Auslan self-guided tour, made up of a series of videos using sign language to tell the stories of some of its key exhibits.

The tour will be a permanent part of the museum and gives immediate access to cultural and heritage information to deaf visitors via their phones after scanning QR codes on specific museum pieces.

Deaf advocate Sophie Li, the daughter of the bestselling author of Mao’s last Dancer, Li Cunxin, who launched the series, said having equal access is empowering and allows the deaf and hard of hearing community greater autonomy and independence.

“A spontaneous visit to a museum is something the hearing community takes for granted,” she said.

“For a deaf person to be able to wander and absorb the stories of the treasures within the museum in their preferred language of Auslan and at their leisure is a new benchmark in accessibility.

“The deaf community in Australia will now get opportunities to learn more of my family’s rich Chinese heritage, reaching a much deeper level through these videos.

“This is the perfect opportunity to learn more about our shared culture.

“Look around you here, there are over 30,000 artefacts.

“As well as the imperial dragons, there are many different textiles, fabrics, photos, documents, metalwork, woodwork and jade stone, so I welcome all of you to learn, enjoy and appreciate what we have here in the museum.”

The Golden Dragon Museum at 1/11 Bridge Street is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 5pm.