“Can you see it’s painted black?” she said excitedly. “That’s partly because it looks beautiful, but also to contrast with the floor.” It was painted that way to help visually impaired people move around the space, Ms. Barlow said.

She then pointed to a bench in front of a video screen. “You see it’s off-center?” she said. That’s so wheelchair users can pull up alongside it and get a perfect view, she said . Normally, in museums, they have to sit to the side.

Ms. Barlow cited other design elements to benefit disabled people. Exits are always visible so people with anxiety know they can leave. There’s a range of audio and visual guides, including one in British Sign Language, and models of exhibits that people can touch.

“If you don’t need them, you might not notice them,” Ms. Barlow said. “But if you do, they’re there.”

“Being Human,” which opened on Thursday, is claimed by some disabled advocates and researchers as the most accessible museum space ever opened in Britain. “It’s a real game changer,” said Richard Sandell of the Research Center for Museums and Galleries at the University of Leicester, in a telephone interview on Wednesday. (The center was a consultant for the exhibition .)