Skip to content

Florida State University

FSU | Florida State University News

  • Navigation
  • Search FSU
  • Webmail

Search FSU


Close Search

Site Navigation

  • Home
  • News Topics
    • Arts & Humanities
    • Business, Law & Policy
    • Education & Society
    • Health & Medicine
    • Science & Technology
    • Students & Campus Life
    • University News
    • All News
    • Faculty/Staff Briefs
    • Expert Pitches
  • Multimedia
    • Video Stories
    • Radio Stories
    • Photo Galleries
    • All Multimedia
  • About FSU
    • The Big Story
    • Student Stars
    • Publications
    • Highlights/Rankings
    • Seminole Tribe
  • For Journalists
    • News Contacts
    • Media Resources
    • Experts
      • Expert Categories
    • Title IX

Global Navigation

  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • Research
  • Faculty
  • Students
  • Veterans
  • Support FSU
Close Menu

Florida State University News

The Official News Source of Florida State University

  • Home
  • News Topics
    • Arts & Humanities
    • Business, Law & Policy
    • Education & Society
    • Health & Medicine
    • Science & Technology
    • Students & Campus Life
    • University News
    • All News
    • Faculty/Staff Briefs
    • Expert Pitches
  • Multimedia
    • Video Stories
    • Radio Stories
    • Photo Galleries
    • All Multimedia
  • About FSU
    • The Big Story
    • Student Stars
    • Publications
    • Highlights/Rankings
    • Seminole Tribe
  • For Journalists
    • News Contacts
    • Media Resources
    • Experts
      • Expert Categories
    • Title IX

Home / News / Students & Campus Life / Florida State undergraduate research touches the Tallahassee community


Florida State undergraduate research touches the Tallahassee community

By: Amy Farnum-Patronis | Published: April 2, 2019 | 4:31 pm | SHARE: Share on FacebookTweet

Freshmen Anna DeJonge and Molly Walters took on closing the accessibility gap at The Grove Museum as a part of their undergraduate research project.
Freshmen Anna DeJonge and Molly Walters took on closing the accessibility gap at The Grove Museum as a part of their undergraduate research project.

When people with visual disabilities or autism visit a museum, how can the venue be more accessible and welcoming?

That’s what Florida State University freshmen Anna DeJonge and Molly Walters set out to explore through a project they conducted with the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) this year. DeJonge and Walters were among the more than 400 Florida State students who presented their research April 2 at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.

Undergraduate research gives students the opportunity to become better thinkers and innovators while solving real-world problems. While the majority of students work with faculty mentors on projects, UROP has expanded research opportunities by partnering with community organizations.

DeJonge and Walters worked with The Grove Museum, a local Tallahassee museum charged with preserving and interpreting the Call-Collins House, its surrounding acreage, and its historical collections, in order to engage the public in dialogue about civil rights and American history.

“Partnering with local community organizations is an important step for UROP,” said Latika Young, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement. “Organizations like The Grove provide settings for students to conduct research and implement projects that have real-world impact.”

DeJonge and Walters’ research focused on making the museum’s content more accessible for audience members on the autism spectrum and for those with visual disabilities.

Teaming up with The Grove Museum was a win-win for the museum and the researchers.

“The Grove Museum appreciates any opportunity it has to work with Tallahassee’s university students,” said Mary Fernandez, a program coordinator at The Grove Museum who served as DeJonge and Walters’ mentor. “The museum’s mission is to tell the story of civil rights in American history, and students can make important contributions toward making this history accessible to the entire community.”

DeJonge, who is majoring in creative writing and communications, authored an audio tour for people with visual disabilities.

“Some blind people don’t go to museums because they aren’t accessible to them, and that’s unfortunate because they have great art and history,” DeJonge said.

The audio tour is very directional and takes visitors counterclockwise throughout the house. It includes detailed explanations and descriptions of paintings, artifacts and inscriptions of the plaques. DeJonge researched every word of the tour to make sure it was appropriate for this very specific audience.

“It’s definitely opened my eyes to a totally different world with disabilities in general,” DeJonge said. “This was challenging in a good way. It helped me grow talent-wise, because I’ve never done anything like this.”

Walters, a Presidential Scholar majoring in studio art, researched low-budget ways to increase accessibility for individuals with autism at smaller-scale museums.

She said the most crucial part of the project was reaching out to the population to ask what their needs are.

“It’s one of the most important things that people can do, but forget to,” Walters said.

Walters worked with Fernandez to implement small, but impactful accommodations at The Grove Museum, such as acquiring noise-canceling headphones and sunglasses to mitigate overstimulation of the senses and creating a social narrative modeled after The Ringling.

“The social narrative walks you through the visit so you know what’s going to happen when you enter the museum and when there’s anything that can be potentially overstimulating, it gives you a forewarning,” Walters said.

Walters said that as an art major, it was difficult for her to picture what research looks like outside of a laboratory setting.

“That’s why I think projects like this one are so important — so that people know that research isn’t restricted to a specific field of study,” Walters said.

Young said the CRE anticipates continuing to expand these crucial community partnerships.

“Students gain essential research skills while also learning more about Tallahassee beyond FSU’s campus, and organizations gain enthusiastic assistance — at no cost — on projects that contribute to their missions and extend their scope,” she said.

For more information on the 2019 Undergraduate Research Symposium, visit https://cre.fsu.edu/events/undergraduate-research-symposium.


Posted in: Students & Campus Life | Tagged: Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement, Latika Young, undergraduate research

Post navigation

Previous Article Previous Article: FSU Students Give Back to Tallahassee at ‘The Big Event’
Next Article Next Article: Florida State receives inaugural leadership award from PeaceJam

Sidebar

Related Stories

  • FSU celebrates 25 years of Living-Learning Communities on campus 
  • ‘Foundation for the future’: FSU student earns John R. Lewis Scholarship
  • FSU presents 10th Annual Women in Leadership Conference 
  • Fourteen FSU graduate students join latest cohort of McKnight Fellows 
  • FSU admits stellar incoming class as academic reputation continues to rise

Recommended Stories

  • FSU community recognizes The Graduate School, former dean with stained-glass window  
  • Faculty works celebrated during annual FSU Authors Day 
  • FSU celebrates 25 years of Living-Learning Communities on campus 
  • FSU Opera brings André Previn’s ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ to life
  • FSU researcher: Poor maternity benefits can prompt new mothers to leave their jobs

Search Florida State News

News Archives

News Topics

  • Arts & Humanities
  • Business, Law & Policy
  • Education & Society
  • Health & Medicine
  • Science & Technology
  • Students & Campus Life
  • University News
  • All News
  • Faculty/Staff Briefs
  • Expert Pitches

Multimedia

  • Video Stories
  • Radio Stories
  • Photo Galleries
  • All Multimedia

About FSU

  • The Big Story
  • Student Stars
  • Publications
  • Highlights/Rankings
  • Seminole Tribe

For Journalists

  • News Contacts
  • Media Resources
  • Experts
    • Expert Categories
  • Title IX

© Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL 32306

  • FSU Directory Assistance
  • Questions or Comments
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • Like Florida State on Facebook
  • Follow Florida State on Instagram
  • Follow Florida State on Twitter"
  • Follow Florida State on Youtube
  • Connect with Florida State on LinkedIn
  • More FSU Social Media