The Blind School: Pioneering People and Places now open

Dear all,

The Blind School: Pioneering People and Places, has now opened at the Museum of Liverpool. This is the second of our three exhibitions about the lives of deaf and disabled people over 800 years.

The exhibition comes with an audio tour, which you can either download to your phone or tablet in the space (free wifi is available) or listen to at home. A guided tour through objects on display is accompanied by performed segments by actors bringing alive some of the people and issues from the School’s 200 year history.

Crafts, campaigning  – and strict rules

The exhibition begins by describing how a group a campaigners, many themselves blind, worked to create opportunities for poorer blind people, expanding their life options from ‘music or begging’. It looks at the growth of the School and the many crafts practised there, as well as the strict rules imposed on residents. Finally it looks at some 20th century life experiences, including evacuation to Wales during the Blitz.

Can you survive a shipwreck and found the School with Edward Rushton?

We have also developed a digital game to accompany the exhibition which you can play at the Museum of Liverpool or (shortly) on our website. Learn about School founder Edward Rushton’s early life history, and see if you can survive various perils and raise money to found the School.