Accessibility

The Technorama is a place where everyone is welcome.

On this page you will find information on the subject of accessibility. We would like to make your preparation and stay with us as pleasant as possible. If you are missing information or need other assistance in order to visit the Technorama, we would be pleased to hear from you.

  • Journey

    Travelling to Technorama is possible in different ways. Here you will find information on travelling for people with a physical disability, a visual impairment and in easy language.

     

    Travelling for people with a physical disability

    Travelling for people with a visual impairment

    Travel instructions in easy language with photos

  • Assistance Dogs

    Marked assistance dogs are allowed in the Technorama.

    Technorama can be relatively noisy, depending on the number of visitors and the exhibition. There is some banging during the gas and oxygen show – see the notes on loudness and quieter places.

  • Detailed preparation for the visit to Technorama (e.g. for people with autism)

    Here you can download a document with a detailed, visualised preparation for your visit to Technorama.
    Print out the document on two pages. You can cut out the «tabs» on the right-hand side so that you can quickly find the topic you want in the booklet.

    Please note: There are always changes to the programme at short notice. You will receive all the latest information on site.

    In addition, a template for a plan is available here, which you can use to prepare your visit to Technorama. Again, there may be changes to the programme on site.

  • Entrance fees and discounts

    People with an IV/AHV card pay a reduced admission price (3.- cheaper).

    Assistance people who accompany people with disabilities have free admission to Technorama. Assistance services vary – assistants provide communicative, physical and emotional support and can come from a professional or personal environment.

    Sternschnuppenkarte
    Technorama is a partner organisation of the Sternschnuppe Foundation.

    Families and institutions with a Sternschnuppenkarte receive free admission.

    Families with a child between the ages of 6 and 18 who is disabled, ill or suffering from the consequences of a serious injury can apply for the Sternschnuppenkarte. Institutions such as care homes, hospitals or curative education schools that look after children and young people with disabilities or illnesses aged 6-18 can also apply for the card.

    You can find more information about the Sternschnuppenkarte here.

  • Aids to loan

    Various aids are available for loan at the ticket office:

    • Two wheelchairs (these will be provided if booked in advance on 052 244 08 44).
    • Hearing protection to muffle the ambient noise
    • iPhones with the NaviLens and NaviLensGo app (see point Orientation and information with the NaviLens app)
    • iPads with the communication apps MetaTalkDE and GoTalk (see «Augmentative and Alternative Communication AAC»)
    • Communication books with METACOM symbols for the various exhibitions
    • List of suitable exhibits for blind and visually impaired guests – the digital version can be downloaded here: Download

    The following aids are available in the restaurant:

    • Cutlery with wide handles and bendable spoons (Good Grips cutlery)
    • Grooved cup with lid
    • Plate rim raiser
    • Seating for adults
  • Notes on the number of visitors

    On peak days, a lot of people visit the Technorama and it can get correspondingly noisy and crowded. Experience shows that there are more people on days with bad weather than on days with good weather. The number of visitors is also higher at weekends and during holidays than during the week. On important Christian holidays, however, it is sometimes rather quiet (e.g. 25 December).

    School classes plan their visits for longer periods of time, so these visits are not dependent on the weather.

    Excursions are less frequent on the first school day after holidays, so fewer school classes are to be expected then. School excursions to Technorama often take place in May and June.

    Visitors usually start their tour on the ground floor. If you need a quieter environment, it is therefore advisable to start your tour on the first floor right after the opening.

    The restaurant is very crowded from 12 pm onwards when there are many visitors. Hot food is available from 11 am and it is usually much quieter between 11 am – 12 pm.

  • Content accessibility aids

    For the exhibition MatheMagic, all instructions are available in easy language, with METACOM symbols and as an audio file for people with a visual impairment. Some of the instructions are available in sign language.
    The content is provided with the apps NaviLens and NaviLensGo – more information on this can be found under the item Orientation and information with the apps NaviLens and NaviLensGo.

    For people with a hearing impairment, there will be texts to read along during some of the presentations. Please ask the show staff before the performance begins.

  • Loudness and quieter places

    There is a lot of experimenting and trying things out at Technorama. This can sometimes cause loud noises.

    It is usually quieter in the following parts:

    Toy Trains (UG), Tinkering (EG), in front of the biology labs on the 2nd floor, in the park.

    During the lightning demonstration there are loud noises that can also be heard well in the exhibition rooms. The show usually takes place at 11.00 and 14.15. At the end of Sigi’s phenomenal oxygen show there is a loud bang. This is usually shortly around 12.15 pm and 15.30 pm. The bang can be heard on the first floor as well as the second floor.
    On some days there are additional shows. These are announced with loudspeaker announcements.

    Scheduled announcements take place to announce the shows, the labs and shortly before the Technorama closes (approx. 4.45 pm and 4.55 pm).

    Other announcements are made spontaneously, e.g. when a child is looking for its parents or vice versa.

    If you do not understand the announcement, you can ask the hosts at any time. They will explain to you what was announced.

  • Easy read
    Everyone should understand the instructions.
    That's why we write instructions in easy language.
    
    But that takes a lot of time.
    That's why there are only a few instructions in easy language.
    
    Where can you find the instructions in easy language?
    The instructions are in the MatheMagie exhibition and in the Electricity and Magnets exhibition.
    
    You need an app on your phone.
    The app is called NaviLensGo.
    Do you see a colored code in Technorama?
    Then you can scan the code with your app.
    Now you have the text in easy language.
    
    You can also go to information.
    There they will help you:
    They download the app with you.
    You set up the app correctly.
  • Lifts and stairs

    There is a lift in both stairwells. This has a door width of 160 cm and a cabin size of 160 x 220 cm. There is enough space in front of the lift to turn around.

    The lift has a cabin panel with high contrasts and tactile buttons. A handrail is mounted on one side wall.
    The lift has a voice output.

    The Wonder Bridge in the park is also accessible by lift. The lift is not freely accessible, a telephone number is displayed next to the lift and it can be operated using the Eurokey.

    The banisters are provided with tactile labelling. The stairs in the outdoor area are visually marked.

  • Orientation and information with the NaviLens and NaviLensGo apps

    We use NaviLens for blind and visually impaired visitors. The NaviLens codes help visitors find their way from the Technorama entrance to the information centre, the restaurant and the MatheMagic exhibition.
    All exhibits in the MatheMagic exhibition are equipped with NaviLens codes. The information on the exhibits can thus be accessed on a mobile phone. The app also helps you navigate through the exhibition.
    You can download the app to your mobile phone free of charge before your visit. The navigation currently only works on iPhones, the content works on all smartphones.
    An iPhone can also be borrowed from the Technorama information desk.

    The NaviLensGo app provides information in different versions:
    – for some exhibits there are instructions and explanations in sign language (yellow border around the NaviLens code)
    – All instructions are available in easy language (accessible via the app, but analogue instructions are also available)
    – All instructions are available with METACOM symbols (accessible via the app, but analogue instructions are also available)

  • People with medical implants

    There are exhibits, areas and demonstrations at Technorama in which (electro)magnetic fields of varying intensity occur. These include in particular the «Et Cetera» and «Electricity and Magnets» exhibitions. However, visitors with medical implants can visit Technorama without any problems. Please follow our instructions for the respective exhibits.

    The precautionary measures apply, for example, to people with:

    Pacemakers and implanted defibrillators

    VP shunt implants with magnetic valves

    Cochlear implants

    Pulse generators

    In order to avoid interfering with your implant as far as possible, please observe the information boards and warning signs on the respective exhibits in the exhibition and follow the respective experiment instructions.

  • Restaurant

    Various aids are available for visitors in the restaurant: Cutlery with wide handles and bendable spoons (Good Grips cutlery), grooved cups with lids, plate raisers and dining seats for adults. If required, please contact the restaurant staff to borrow the appropriate aids.

  • Wheelchair accessibility

    The entire exhibition including laboratories, park and restaurant are wheelchair accessible.

    Most of the exhibits are wheelchair-accessible.

    There is sufficient space for wheelchair users at the «Natural History of Lightning» demonstration. Larger groups are welcome to book in advance so that we can organise the space accordingly.

    There are only 4-6 wheelchair spaces available for the «Sigi’s phenomenal oxygen show». Please book in advance so that we can reserve a place for you. For safety reasons, it is not possible to sit in front of the first row. The wheelchair spaces are therefore at the back and only accessible from the 2nd floor.

    Two wheelchairs are available for hire for people with walking difficulties.
    You can reserve these in advance by calling 052 244 08 44

    In the event of a necessary evacuation, four EvacChairs are available. These are located in the stairwells on the 1st and 2nd floors. This means that people with a walking disability can be brought safely down the stairs to the ground floor and out of the building.

  • Toilets and baby changing facilities

    There are three wheelchair-accessible toilets in the main building.

    The wheelchair-accessible toilets are located on the ground floor by the cloakroom and in the stairwells.

    The door to the toilet by the cloakroom opens inwards.

    In the first stairwell, the toilet doors open outwards.

    In the second stairwell, the first door opens inwards, the second outwards.

    You can find more detailed information on the toilets in the Procap access monitor:

    To the access monitor

     

    Changing tables are located in front of the wheelchair-accessible toilets. Changing facilities for taller people are available in the first-aid room. A changing table with a disposable cover is available there. Please contact the information desk.

  • Augmentative and alternative communication AAC

    For people who cannot (sufficiently) express themselves verbally, various aids for supported communication are available. All aids are only available in German, but the symbols and photos may also be useful for people who speak other languages:

    You can borrow a communication book at the cash desk/information desk. The communication book contains 20 pages with METACOM symbols for the various exhibitions, demonstrations and other areas such as the cash desk, shop and restaurant.

    Do you use an electronic communication aid?
    You can download page sets for various communication aids here. The page sets contain communication pages for all exhibition areas, demonstrations, laboratories and other areas such as the cash desk, shop and restaurant as well as photos of all exhibits.

    Page set for MetaTalk: Download

    Page set for TD Snap: Download (Link Pageset Central)

    Pages with all exhibits for GoTalkNow (without communication pages): Download

    At the cash desk/information desk, several iPads with MetaTalk and GoTalk are available for loan.

  • Workshops

    The workshops are very practical and action-orientated. We have developed aids for various workshops that enable people with disabilities to participate more easily in the workshops, such as

    – visualised instructions
    – Communication boards with METACOM symbols
    – Compilation of the most important gestures
    – Simplification of the process

    The following workshops have been adapted so far:

    Biology:
    – Woodlice under the magnifying glass (from 8 years)

    Chemistry:
    -Cold, colder, shock freezing – ice cream in three minutes (from 8 years)
    – Villa Kunterbunt – colour chemistry (from 6 years)

    Physics:
    – Discoveries in everyday life: Experiments with candles (from 8 years)
    – Red and green become…? Colour mixing with spinning tops (from cycle 1)

    Would you like to book a workshop as a group? Then write in the comments how your group is made up. This will enable us to provide the appropriate tools.

    Are you taking part in a public workshop? Talk to the staff in the laboratory and they will be happy to provide you with the aids.

    For people with visual impairments, we are happy to recommend suitable individual workshops or put together suitable experiments for a workshop for a group. Get in touch with us!

    Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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