Addressing Early Childhood Accessibility at a Children’s Museum: A Community-Based Capstone Project

Abstract

The occupation of play is vital in early childhood for the development of crucial life skills including motor, social, emotional, language, and executive functioning. Young children with disabilities often face challenges and barriers to participation in play, especially when visiting a community facility like a children’s museum. The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (TCM) has an ongoing commitment to provide accessible and inclusive facilities and experiences for their guests, yet recognizes that there are many opportunities for growth within their accessibility programming. The aim of this capstone project was to contribute to TCM’s accessibility programming through the assessment of an exhibit that had not yet been addressed in depth by their accessibility team. Using information gathered from the assessment and best practices from the literature, the student developed a detailed accessibility report that outlined strategies and guidelines for accessibility improvement within the exhibit. The project was presented to relevant museum staff and distributed throughout the facility so the report can be used as a resource for future accessibility initiatives within the exhibit. To evaluate the effectiveness of the project, attendees of the report presentation took a brief survey and provided feedback to the student. Overall, the results indicated that the project was successful in contributing to the museum’s accessibility programming and that staff members had an increased understanding of accessibility principles and how they can be applied within exhibits in future projects.