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Blogpost: Cardiff Retreat Reflections

In June 2024 we ran our second ‘Retreat’, this time in Cardiff, wonderfully hosted by the National Museum Cardiff – Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd.

On day 1 it was a pleasure to share our findings so far not only with representatives from all our partners but also with museum professionals from a range of Welsh organisations including Amgueddfa Cymru itself, National Trust properties and Powys County Council.

In the morning, Charlotte and Alison updated us on their Strand B work. Following six co-creation workshops at the Wellcome Collection in the first half of 2024, Charlotte and Alison have been creating a set of engaging toolkit resources for our pilot museums to test for us. Our museums are busy recruiting co-creators of their own, as well as starting the process of working through the resources we have designed for them. The early toolkit modules focus on understanding what we mean by ‘sensational’ as well as considering how everyone can contribute to a mindset shift within the museum. We think that inclusion is everyone’s responsibility.

Considering the importance of a mindset shift was a key part of the podcast all retreat attendees were asked to listen to or read before the retreat. Listening to or reading the episode is a great way to understand the questions, challenges, and excitement about the project potential the team have been working with.


In the afternoon, Sophie and Ross presented their findings from the four Strand A workshops and introduced the ‘Build’ phase. Between July and September our partners at The Museum Platform will create the first iteration of our web-based sensory data model, an intuitive and accessible tool to help museum professionals (and perhaps visitors) capture hitherto neglected sensory information about their collections.

During and after both sessions, our guests shared their feedback as well as their experiences of current barriers to multi-sensory working.


On the second day of the Retreat, we tasked our attendees with finding zero-cost ways of exploring the museum through several senses. Solo, or in groups of 2 or 3, our partners and researchers explored the museum’s many different galleries and then described their multi-sensory experiences to the group. Here are our favourite suggestions:

Let your movement around the museum be guided by people around you; follow the sound of strangers speaking through the galleries; you will come across unexpected places and you might hear about different ways of engaging with the collections.

Talk to the Front of House staff: gallery attendants spend hours with the museum collections. They are under-used resources who have personal, and often multi-sensory, relationships with the museum: ask them how they notice smell, temperature, sound, and shade in the galleries at different times of the day or year. Or perhaps they have stories about how other visitors have interacted with the collections: ask them for the most sensational engagement they have witnessed.

Touch (and Smell) what you can: museums are full of objects we are not allowed to touch – but many UK museums and galleries – including National Museum Cardiff – are housed in historical buildings whose walls, handrails and floors have interesting tactile and olfactory properties. Don’t forget to explore the museum shop; even if you aren’t buying, they often have items such as soap and perfume whose smells might add to your multi-sensory experience. We tasted dark chocolate, flavoured with orange, designed to evoke the bright oranges of Cezanne’s Still Life with Teapot.