By Ginny McCabe
If you want to go to a local attraction that offers an interactive learning experience, there are plenty of places to visit that offer hands-on, sensory inclusive experiences for kids, teens and adults. We offer six places in Ohio where people with special needs can enjoy attractions with the convenience of helpful extras, such as sensory bags, fidget toys,
noise-canceling headphones, visual supports and more.
1 –Children’s Museum of Cleveland (CMC) offers a wide range of resources for neurodiverse guests. These resources are designed to support families before, during and after a visit.
Guests and their families who need special services can call 216-791-7114 and press ext. “0” after parking to arrange accommodations at the front desk, which is helpful for families who face challenges when waiting in line. The front desk can also provide a re-entry sticker for guests who may need to leave and re-enter the museum.
Hattie Kotz, director of marketing and development at CMC, says everything at the museum is hands-on and interactive in a low-tech environment. It is all designed to support early childhood development, including cognitive, physical and social-emotional development,as well as building kids’ social skills.
CMC has a sensory-friendly room — available to all guests at all times — that features controlled lighting and sound, sensory support toys, and soft, comfortable seating.
Sensory support kits can be checked out for free at the museum’s front desk. The kits include fidget toys, noise-canceling headphones and visual schedules, which support children with varying needs.
Additionally, guests may choose to make their own visual schedule with a template that includes picture cards. A social narrative complete with visual support will help familiarize children with the museum’s exhibits, rules and spaces.
“Kids learn through play, and having a welcoming, approachable space to spark that curiosity is so important to build a strong foundation for future learning, and to build that excitement and aspiration toward learning. Every child deserves that experience,” Kotz says.
Visit cmcleveland.org
2 –Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
The Stearns Woodland Trail is a mile-long trail that is partially accessible. It has a mix of paved and natural segments, including dirt, bridges and boardwalks. The trail begins at the Nature Center’s Rusty Knight Woodland Garden and can also be accessed from the Lavelle Family Amphitheater and the south side of the parking lot. About a quarter mile of the trail is accessible.
A second trail, the quarter-mile All Peoples’ Trail, is fully ADA accessible and can accommodate people of all needs and abilities, including guests who have a stroller, wheelchair or an adapted walking device. Both trails are open to the public every day, from dawn to dusk.
“The All Peoples’ Trail is a great place for families that have young kids with strollers, but also for those with special needs,” says Tania Younkin, director of marketing and community engagement at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes.
Another fully accessible attraction on-site is Jimmy’s Treehouse, which is open anytime the Nature Center is open. The Treehouse deck is open from dawn to dusk.
“Nature in and of itself is a sensory-friendly activity,” Younkin says. “Through that, people can be out in nature, experiencing the sounds of the birds or the smell of different flora and fauna. It’s healthy for everyone, especially to someone who might get overwhelmed by a lot of loud sounds. It’s a very peaceful and natural setting.”
Visit shakerlakes.org
3 –LEGOLAND Discovery Center Columbus at Easton Town Center is a 36,000-sq.-ft. indoor play space with interactive games, play areas, rides, hands-on building challenges and a 4D movie theater that are all about Legos.
“We definitely care deeply about creating magical and inclusive experiences here,” says Cheryl Ryan, marketing manager.
Other hands-on build areas for young children include “Duplo Farm,” “Lego City” and “Lego Friends.” The two rides, “Merlin’s Apprentice” and “Kingdom Quest,” are wheelchair transferrable.
In addition, “Ohio Miniland” is a display room of Ohio, where guests will discover landmarks from Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus all rendered in Lego bricks.
Also, it offers no cost Carer tickets for caregivers accompanying guests to the attraction. Tickets are available on a walk-up basis at the admissions counter with a valid caregiver ID.
It is designed primarily for families with children ages 3 to 10. There are wide aisles for wheelchair accessibility, and several accessible Lego build tables. There are also movies without dialogue, and some of the 4D movies are more action and gesture based. The attraction is located on two floors, and guest elevators are available. The center also recently launched a Braille Brick activity that is run by the Master Model Builders.
For the Accessibility Guide visit legolanddiscoverycenter.com/columbus
4 – Playhouse Square in Cleveland It offers sensory-friendly theater experiences that offer the following: lower sound levels, especially for startling or louder sounds; guests are free to talk, leave their seats, and move about freely during the performance; house lights in the theater are left on but turned down low throughout the performance; and designated calming areas staffed by volunteer specialists are available for guests.
Since launching a sensory-friendly initiative in 2014, Playhouse Square has 18 sensory-friendly performances and partnered with the Cuyahoga County Board of Developmental Disabilities and Dr. Thomas Kelbley to create a sensory-friendly video series that explores different ways to relax and manage stress. Cuyahoga DD also provides volunteers for all of Playhouse Square’s shows and assists with training all of the theater’s “Red Coat” ushers.
Playhouse Square also hosts an annual Family Theater Day, which features ticketed performances, along with other free-for-all programming. On Family Theater Day, a sensory room is equipped with fidget toys, noise-canceling headphones, bean bag chairs and more.
The Mimi Ohio Theatre also has a sensory-friendly room called the Sweeney Room, designed to be a quiet, calming area where guests can go to relax. The Sweeney Room has dim lighting, a pop-up tent, bean bag chairs, fidget toys, hearing protection, and gentle music playing in the background.
Visit playhousesquare.org/
sensory-friendly-programming
5 – Greater Cleveland Aquarium
(GCA), a KultureCity certified sensory inclusive organization, offers a number of resources to guests with special needs, such as sensory bags available upon request that are outfitted with noise-canceling headphones, fidget tools, and visual cue cards.
“KultureCity works to promote and accommodate a positive experience for guests with sensory differences,” says Stephanie White, general manager at GCA.
Other resources include a KultureCity “Social Story” and a “Aquarium Sensory Field Guide.” Both of these resources are helpful to guests when planning a trip, and they can be used during a visit.
GCA also partners with the Cuyahoga DD, and it is part of the “ALL means ALL” initiative, which ensures the aquarium is welcoming to people of all abilities and all backgrounds, and provides opportunities for meaningful inclusion.
The aquarium offers daily activities that are accessible for everyone, ranging from Animal Encounters and Discovery Carts to a Sharks and Scuba Underwater Q&A. These activities provide ways to get up close to animals and offer guests an interactive experience.
“The galleries have an immersive feel, and our animal habitats were designed to be viewable from multiple angles, and also multiple heights. So there are lower viewing panels, and there are several underwater walkways with underwater viewing,” White says.
The sights and sounds of GCA are welcoming and soothing. In addition, several times a year the aquarium offers “Sensory Hour,” during which it opens early, capacity is limited, and noises are reduced.
Located on the West Bank of the Flats along the Cuyahoga River, GCA’s “Aquarium Sensory Field Guide” incorporates sound, smell, touch, visual, lighting and proprioception in many of the aquarium’s exhibition and gallery areas, as well as in public spaces. The parking lot is located close to the building and the aquarium itself is a one-level attraction. Wheelchairs can be reserved.
Visit greaterclevelandaquarium.com/accessibility
6- Center of Science and Industry
(COSI) in Columbus has combined science learning and fun since 1964 with over 300 hands-on exhibits, a planetarium — touted as the largest planetarium in Ohio — a National Geographic Giant Screen Theater, live shows and more.
“One of the mottos we go by is ‘Science is for Everyone.’ We truly mean that and it’s something we strive toward, trying to make science accessible no matter who comes to participate or to learn,” says Katherine Davis, manager of special education experiences and strategies at COSI.
“For our sensory focused visitors, we are building in a couple different realms,” she says. “We do offer sensory bags that include things like noise-canceling headphones, fidgets, liquid timers and sunglasses. We have visual schedules that provide icons of all the activities that are within COSI, so they can actually lay out and create a visual, step-by-step of what they are going to do for the day.”
The sensory bags are a free resource that can be checked out with an ID and returned at the end of a visit.
Another resource is a program called Sensory Space, which creates quiet spaces so individuals can have a break, but still continue to participate in science and the various activities that they are doing as part of their day. There is an individual Sensory Space near the Atrium desk. COSI has also incorporated a Sensory Tent, which is a moveable space that can be used at festivals and other community events. On high capacity days, COSI can also create additional temporary Sensory Spaces on site.
COSI recently updated its sensory map to provide a better understanding of the center’s high-traffic areas, low-traffic areas, and spaces that are quieter.
Davis says COSI is also focusing on being sensory-friendly at off-site events, too. The hope is that everyone can participate without getting overwhelmed.
“It’s being able to show individuals of all abilities and all backgrounds that they have a place in science.” she says. “We want to be able to take out the barriers and create spaces where they can not only experience science, but there’s opportunities to see others like themselves within a science world, and even have opportunities to join the science world.”
Visit cosi.org
