Case study · Spain · Cantabria
PrehisCan, Cantabrian prehistory read aloud.
IIIPC and the University of Cantabria integrate NaviLens into the panels and showcases of PrehisCan, a touring exhibition that travels across Cantabrian municipalities with its accessible layer always included.
Cantabria
IIIPC · University of Cantabria
PrehisCan
Touring exhibition on Cantabrian prehistory
Panels + cases
Roll-up panels and museum showcases
42
Languages with voice reading
Client
International Institute for Prehistoric Research of Cantabria
— University of Cantabria
The IIIPC is a joint institute of the Government of Cantabria, the University of Cantabria and Banco Santander, an international benchmark in Cantabrian prehistoric research. It coordinates excavations, training and outreach.
With the touring exhibition PrehisCan — supported by FECYT and the Ministry of Science and Innovation — IIIPC brings the region's prehistory to Cantabrian museums, cultural centres and public buildings. NaviLens makes that outreach accessible and multilingual.
§ The challenge
Letting scientific outreach also be heard.
- 01
An exhibition that travels
PrehisCan tours Cantabrian municipalities — from Castro Urdiales to Puente Nansa — occupying very different cultural rooms, offices and municipal centres. Accessibility had to travel with the show, regardless of the venue.
- 02
Lots of text, limited reading capacity
Each roll-up combines dense scientific text, images and graphics on Neanderthals, Palaeolithic, Neolithic and heritage protection. People with low vision, dyslexia or who don't read Spanish were being left out of the story.
- 03
Showcases with fragile pieces
Showcases with lithic tools, ceramics and archaeological items don't allow close approach or label handling. A layer of information was needed that could be read from a distance and by voice, without altering the museography.
§ The solution
A code on every panel and showcase.
IIIPC integrates NaviLens codes in the header of every PrehisCan roll-up and next to the showcase labels. The NaviLens GO app detects the code from several metres away and reads the content in the visitor's language.
The accessible layer travels with the exhibition: every new municipal venue — Castro Urdiales, Puente Nansa and others — automatically inherits the same accessible experience in 42 languages.
§ Timeline
From the panels to an accessible touring exhibition.
- Oct 2021
Launch of the PrehisCan programme
The International Institute for Prehistoric Research of Cantabria (IIIPC) launches PrehisCan, a science outreach programme that will tour Cantabria until June 2022, with the exhibition “¡Inmersión! Buceando en la Prehistoria”, lectures, workshops and an escape room (web.unican.es and iiipc.unican.es).
- Production
NaviLens codes on every roll-up
IIIPC adds a NaviLens code to the header of every panel — “The Neanderthal Founders”, “Palaeolithic Art”, “The First Herders and Farmers”, “Past Environments”, “Heritage Protection” — so the content always travels with its accessible version.
- Tour 2021–2022
Castro Urdiales, Puente Nansa and more venues
The show is deployed at venues of the Government of Cantabria and local councils: Castro Urdiales, the former post office / cultural centre of Puente Nansa and other municipalities, keeping the same accessible layer.
- Showcases
Pieces read by voice from a distance
Each showcase adds its own NaviLens code next to the label. NaviLens GO detects the code from several metres and reads the description, context and scientific information in the visitor's language.
§ Walkthrough
From the entrance to the showcases with lithic pieces.
Access
PrehisCan — entrance at Puente Nansa
Access to the PrehisCan exhibition in the public building of Puente Nansa: the main welcome roll-up already integrates the NaviLens layer in the header to orient arriving visitors.
Room
The Neanderthal Founders · Palaeolithic Art
The panels devoted to the first human societies in the Cantabrian region and to Palaeolithic art carry their NaviLens code at the top, with voice reading of the full text and image descriptions.
Room
The First Herders and Farmers
The section on the Neolithic Revolution and the attachment to the land is completed with NaviLens on every roll-up, allowing visitors to follow the content without approaching the text, with multilingual voice.
Room
Heritage Protection · Past Environments
The panels on the conservation of archaeological heritage and on Quaternary environmental change add NaviLens codes visible from the middle of the room.
Panel
Past Environments — detail
Close-up of the “Past Environments” roll-up: the header includes the NaviLens code and leaves the rest of the panel free for scientific graphics on glaciations, climates and temperatures.
Venue
Exhibition in Castro Urdiales
PrehisCan installed in the municipal room of Castro Urdiales: roll-ups and showcases with NaviLens codes distributed along the whole tour, keeping the touring museography intact.
Showcase
“The First Inhabitants” showcase
The showcase with lithic pieces and tools of the first inhabitants adds a NaviLens code next to the label: visitors detect it from a distance and hear the detailed description in their language.
§ Results
An exhibition that travels with its accessible layer included.
0 works
Codes integrated over existing panels and showcases
Voice + 42 languages
Scientific content read aloud
Touring
Same accessibility at every new Cantabrian venue
§ What they said
“El Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (IIIPC) presenta PrehisCan, un programa de divulgación científica que recorrerá Cantabria hasta junio de 2022 con la exposición «¡Inmersión! Buceando en la Prehistoria», conferencias, talleres y un escape room.”
“PrehisCan es un programa de divulgación de la investigación en prehistoria promovido por el IIIPC (Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Gobierno de Cantabria) en el marco del Plan de Fomento de la Cultura Científica del Plan Estatal de I+D+i del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación.”
§ And your destination?
Your destination can also guide in 42 languages.
Tell us about your routes, offices, monuments or galleries. We’ll show you how NaviLens would make your offer accessible —with comparable cases.
