Bridging Gaps: Engaging Disadvantaged Students with Museums in South Africa In South Africa, where access to museums may be limited for students in disadvantaged schools in rural and local communitie

Museums, as centres of historical, cultural, and scientific learning, can contribute greatly to providing a well-rounded education for all students (Dewdney, & Dibosa, 2013). However, access to such invaluable knowledge repositories can be a challenge for students in disadvantaged rural and local schools. To overcome this barrier, innovative strategies need to be employed to bring museums closer to these schools. One effective way of bridging this gap is through the concept of 'mobile museums'. According to South African authors, Van Schalkwyk, & Rohrer (2018), mobile museums can be deployed to visit rural and local communities, making the rich educational resources of museums accessible to disadvantaged schools. Mobile museums can provide children with comprehensive insights into various fields of knowledge, allowing them to interact with objects and documents normally stored in traditional, stationary museums. Secondly, technology can be a powerful tool to enable access to museum resources. Significant advancements in the digitalization of museums encourage experiential learning at a distance. Multimedia formats such as virtual tours, 3D artefacts, and interactive online exhibitions can be used to capture the interest of students and encourage online museum visitations (Edmonds, Eid, & Hand, 2017). For instance, as Van der Merwe, & Slabbert (2018) suggest, harnessing virtual reality technology can bring the entire museum experience to classrooms in remote areas of South Africa. Finally, collaboration between museums and schools is key to optimizing education in disadvantaged communities. By partnering with educational institutions, museums can foster a culture of learning and curiosity among students (Cameron, 2010). This collaboration can facilitate the design of museum-based school curricula that align with the learners’ educational needs and socio-cultural contexts (Botha, 2014). References: Botha, G. (2014). Unlocking the potential: Transformation, museums and community development in South Africa. *Museum and Society*, 12(3), 136-149. Cameron, D. (2010). An identity for the 21st Century Museum: metamorphosis and reinvention. *Museum Management and Curatorship*, 25(2), 129-144. Dewdney, A., & Dibosa, D. (2013). *Post-critical museology: Theory and practice in the art museum.* Taylor & Francis. Edmonds, E., Eid, M., & Hand, S. (2017). Digital access: The impact of technology on social access for disadvantaged groups. *Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society*, 15(2), 154-170. Van der Merwe, C., & Slabbert, M. (2018). Seeing through the virtual: Artificial reality in the South African context. *Communicare*, 37(2), 103-120. Van Schalkwyk, F., & Rohrer, C. (2018). *Mobile museums and social change in South Africa: Reflections and challenges.* International Committee of Museums, South Africa.