Tourism and culture centre Karhuntassu

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In 2023, permanent exhibitions presenting the nature, culture and history of the region and a space for
changing exhibitions have been opened in the premises of the Tourism Centre Karhuntassu and in
connection with the Hannu Hautala nature photography centre.
Karhuntassu tells expertly and extensively to the international audience about Kuusamo and what you can
see and experience here. In Kuusamo’s tourism information, tourists are served by experienced and fluent
Kuusamo experts who guide international travellers to both nature and services. Language versions of the
contents of Karhuntassu’s exhibitions serve visitors on site and on the website. Virtual applications offer an
experiential addition to the Kuusamo experience.
Neighbouring municipalities from every direction are involved in the story that the tourism and culture
centre Karhuntassu talks about Kuusamo.
The history of Kuusamo’s administrative borders is in the north, the history of trade in the direction of
Oulu. Posio and Kuusamo were the same municipality until 1926. The war was harsh for all the parishes of
the border region. Koillismaa as a concept was established because of the cooperation between Reino
Rinne from Kuusamo and Kalle Päätalo from Taivalkoski. The common treasure of all municipalities
Koillismaa is the region’s unique nature. Kuusamo is surrounded by a chain of national parks: Riisitunturi,
Oulanka, Hossa and Salla national parks.

The tourism information desks are all situated on the ground floor, door open automatically and there’s
space for wheelchairs. The tourism information services are free, for the exhibition site you need to buy a
ticket (adults 10 €, pensioners and students 8 €, children 7-18 yo 5 €, children under 7 yo free admission).
The exhibition has both traditional and digital exhibits. The texts on the wall are in Finnish, but the English
version is accessible through QR codes. Hannu Hautala nature photography concentrates on nature
photography, so it’s mostly visual. There is a Kids’ Zone, but it’s on top of stairs and not accessible on
wheelchair. Otherwise, the exhibition area is wheelchair friendly.
Here are some notes about the digital exhibits. Green means no problem, yellow that there might be some
problems and red that it’s problematic.

1. Church parish village scale model
- a. Visual impairment: Voice overs
- b. Hearing impairment: Texts
- c. Language translations: Finnish, English
- d. Physical accessibility: Ramp leading to the scale model, control panel on a low height
2. History-wall – animation
- a. Visual impairment: Voice overs on the headphones
- b. Hearing impairment: Texts
- c. Language translations: Finnish, English
- d. Physical accessibility: Some buttons might be high
3. History-wall – the game
- a. Visual impairment: No voice overs
- b. Hearing impairment: No essential sounds
- c. Language translations: Finnish, English
- d. Physical accessibility: Tablet on a low height
4. Get to know Kuusamo – Secret Diaries
- a. Visual impairment: No voice overs
- b. Hearing impairment: No essential sounds
- c. Language translations: Only in Finnish
- d. Physical accessibility: Tablet on a low height
5. Get to know Kuusamo – Kuusamo cruise
- a. Visual impairment: No voice overs
  b. Hearing impairment: No essential sounds
  c. Language translations: Only in Finnish
  d. Physical accessibility: Tablet on a low height
6. Get to know Kuusamo – Datsun 100A radio
- a. Visual impairment: Radio, the buttons might be hard to find?
- b. Hearing impairment: Only music
- c. Language translations: Only music, which is in English
- d. Physical accessibility: It might be difficult to get inside the car
7. Get to Know Kuusamo – School pictures
- a. Visual impairment: No voice overs
- b. Hearing impairment: No essential sounds
- c. Language translations: Only in Finnish
- d. Physical accessibility: Tablet on a low height
8. Tourism and culture -wall – Tourism-tablet
- a. Visual impairment: No voice overs, text small
- b. Hearing impairment: No essential sounds
- c. Language translations: Only in Finnish
- d. Physical accessibility: Tablet on a low height
9. Tourism and culture -wall – Culture-tablet
- a. Visual impairment: No voice overs, text small
- b. Hearing impairment: No essential sounds
- c. Language translations: Only in Finnish
- d. Physical accessibility: Tablet on a low height
10. Changing exhibitions
- a. Depends on the exhibit. No digital content
11. Map applications
- a. Visual impairment: Virtual route videos have voice overs, otherwise difficult for those with
- visual impairments
- b. Hearing impairment: Spoken parts have subtitles, otherwise no essential sounds
- c. Language translations: Finnish, English
- d. Physical accessibility: Displays are on a standing height
12. Chamber
- a. Visual impairment: Contents difficult for visually impaired, no voice overs
- b. Hearing impairment: Retro-TV has no subtitles in some contents, otherwise no essential
- sounds
- c. Language translations: Name Generator in Finnish and English, Talking Heads only in
- Finnish
- d. Physical accessibility: Talking Heads high on the wall, retro-TV and Name Generator are
- accessible
13. Video-audio room
- a. Visual impairment: Videos have voice overs
- b. Hearing impairment: Mobile Connect, some videos have subtitles
- c. Language translations: Depends on the videos on display, currently one in English and three
- in Finnish
- d. Physical accessibility: Seats, big screen, easy to access
14. Listening wall
- a. Visual impairment: Songs are listened on the headphones
- b. Hearing impairment: Words and notes on the screen
- c. Language translations: Only in Finnish (local songs)
- d. Physical accessibility: Tablet and headphones on a low height, chairs for sitting

Listing ID: 3069
Languaje Available: English, German, Finnish, Finnish
Group/Single: Group & single
Adaptability: 1- Reduced mobility, 2- Deaf/hard of hearing, 3- Visually impaired, 5- Learning difficulties
Contents: Outdoor Activity