A Chelmsford school boy has helped to bring the Ocean to life for people who have hearing impairments after working with an attractions to create a series of British Sign Language interpretations for some of its largest exhibits.

Dexter Hanmer, aged 9, has been working alongside the National Marine Aquarium – the largest Aquarium in the UK, run by conservation charity, the Ocean Conservation Trust – to film the videos so that hearing impaired visitors no longer have to miss out on finding out some incredible facts about the Ocean and the animals that live in it as they make their way around the Aquarium.

Now on display in front of its Atlantic Ocean, Eddystone and Great Barrier Reef exhibits, the short videos reflect all of the information provided in the range of audio videos already available to visitors to ensure that everyone can enjoy the themed exhibits to their full potential.

Dexter, who attends Mildmay Junior School and is also hearing impaired, spent hours working on the videos to ensure that they were accurate.

He has been learning BSL himself since he was just a baby and hopes to become a role model for other deaf children, showing them that their disabilities don’t have to hold them back.

Dexter said: “I’m really pleased with the videos and hope that they will help other children and adults who are deaf to have a better experience of the Aquarium. I worked really hard on them and I’m so happy to have been able to help”.

Dexter’s mother, Louise Hanmer, added: “I’m unbelievably proud of Dexter and all that he has achieved. He has worked very hard to ensure that the videos he created were just right, and it’s wonderful knowing that his efforts have made such a big difference to some of the Aquarium’s visitors.”

“We first took him to BabySign classes when he was just four months old, and we all learnt the basics as a family - then from age two, he started having BSL tuition at home and continued throughout nursery and infant school.

“At his current school, the children in the hearing resource base have a Deaf Studies class once a week, and they have been learning about deaf role models like Helen Keller and Lou Ferrigno (Hulk). It was after these classes that Dexter started talking about wanting to be a role model to other hearing-impaired children himself and he has since helped his younger or non-hearing-impaired school friends when they've been learning signs.

“In the school Christmas production, he was the 'official signer' and stood at the corner of the stage, narrating the play and song lyrics. Dexter’s school also takes part in the Royal Association of the Deaf (RAD) annual signed Christmas carol service each year.”

Dexter now hopes to be involved with making some further interpretation videos for the Aquarium, as well as using his skillset to do similar work further afield.

“Eventually, I’d like to make videos about zoo animals, too – or even historic animals like dinosaurs in museums. When I’m a grown up, I’d love to give signed tours of attractions like the Aquarium to visitors, giving them an even better experience.

Nicola Bridge, Head of Conservation Education and Communication for the Ocean Conservation Trust, said that Dexter was a true inspiration and that his videos had made the world of difference to hearing impaired visitors at the NMA since they launched.

“Dexter is an inspiration to us all, and what he as achieved at the age of just nine is something that we could all learn from. Not only has his dedication meant that we now have an informative set of BSL videos on display at our Aquarium’s main exhibits, but his selflessness and desire to help others has made a huge difference to our hearing-impaired visitors. We’d like to thank Mildmay Junior School for their support in making this happen and for facilitating the creation of the videos.

“As a charity, we believe that the Ocean is for everyone, and we’re always looking for new ways not just to bring the Ocean into people’s lives, but to give them the best possible experience of it, too. Dexter’s hard work has allowed us to make that happen in the Aquarium, and we can’t thank him enough for his help.”

When asked what message he’d like to get across to other hearing-impaired children, Dexter said: "Just because you are deaf doesn't mean you can't achieve your goals. There will be barriers, but you can figure out your way through them. Don't give up".